Residents stunned as apparent tornado sweeps through Anza Valley

ANZA — Residents of Anza, Cahuilla, Sage, Aguanga, and the surrounding communities, were stunned yesterday afternoon, Aug. 16, when an apparent tornado appeared to touch down and swept through the area near CA-371.

Numerous people who witnessed the twister managed to snap photos and take videos of the incident and National Weather Service San Diego later said the “landspout tornado” was associated with “severe thunderstorms” that swept through the Anza Valley throughout the day.

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Although there were no reported injuries or known damage to structures, many area residents took to the Internet and shared photos, videos, and first hand accounts of what they had seen. Some posted photos of damaged crops and items that appeared to have been picked up and tossed about by the heavy winds that were related to the incident.

The National Weather Service is working to determine if an tornado appeared to touch down in the Anza Valley yesterday afternoon. Henny Deckmann photo

Numerous people later described power surges and outages, and discussed taking shelter in underground cellars and storage rooms, inside bathtubs, and under tables.

Shortly after word of the supposed twister began spreading across the Internet, Facebook’s Riverside County Wildfire Incidents shared safety tips for dealing with twisters, writing in a post, “Avoid windows. Go to the lowest floor, small center room (like a bathroom or closet), under a stairwell, or in an interior hallway with no windows. Crouch as low as possible to the floor, facing down; and cover your head with your hands. ”

Anza resident Don Williamson later described hearing a “very large roar,” as the twister “went straight over our place on Wellman off of Howard South.”

“Shingles and (debris) was flying everywhere here,” Williamson explained. “The horse coral roof is a total uplifted mess, our dogs went nuts, and our macho junkyard dog is still trying to get in my lap with heavy panting breath.”

National Weather Service officials are still trying to confirm if what witnesses saw was actually a tornado and are working to determine if the funnel touched down or caused any major damage.

Click any image to open full-size gallery.

Henny Deckmann photo
Henny Deckmann photo
Dani Rascon photo
Lisa Balch La Russo photo
Grass Roots Hydroponics photo
Terry Jakobs photo

 

Contact the writer: [email protected]

Trevor Montgomery, 47, recently moved to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source and Shasta County News Source. Additionally, he writes for several other news organizations; including Riverside County based newspapers, Valley News, The Valley Chronicle, and Anza Valley Outlook; as well as Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County and The Mountain Echo in Shasta County.

Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg, breaking his back, and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s accident.)

During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations; including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center, and Lake Elsinore Station; along with other locations.

Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.

Trevor has been married for more than 28 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” includes 13 children and 14 – but soon to be 16 – grandchildren.

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