Santa Ana Winds: Storm Damage Preparation for Glendale Homes

Roof coverings first. Tile lifts and slides, shingles curl and tear at the fastener line, and ridge caps come loose. Homes on exposed ridgelines — the Verdugo foothills, the canyon neighborhoods, upper hillside streets — take the worst of it because the wind accelerates over topography.

Flashing at chimneys, skylights and wall intersections, which is thin metal and the most vulnerable detail on any roof.

Trees and limbs. Santa Anas are notorious for bringing down eucalyptus and other shallow-rooted species, and a limb on a roof punctures the deck rather than just displacing covering.

Fencing, patio covers, awnings and anything else that presents surface area to the wind and becomes debris when it fails.

Windows and doors, both from direct pressure and from windborne debris.

Wind damage that doesn't leak immediately is the most common cause of the first-storm ceiling leak. The mechanism is simple: a displaced tile or a torn flashing detail exposes underlayment or deck. Nothing happens for months because there's no water. Then the first significant rain finds the opening.

This is why a post-wind inspection matters even when nothing appears wrong. Look from the ground with binoculars after any significant wind event: displaced or missing tiles, irregular patterns in the roof surface, debris in valleys, lifted shingle edges, and anything that looks different from before.

Check the attic too. Daylight visible anywhere other than a vent means an opening, and it's much easier to find on a bright dry day than during the storm that reveals it.

Trim trees, particularly limbs overhanging the roof or the driveway, and get shallow-rooted species assessed by an arborist if they're close to the house.

Secure or store patio furniture, umbrellas, planters and anything else that becomes a projectile. Windborne debris causes as much damage as wind pressure.

Clear gutters and roof valleys — accumulated debris gets redistributed and can dam water later.

Check that anything roof-mounted is properly secured: satellite dishes, solar mounts, vent caps, and rooftop equipment.

Close the fireplace damper and secure exterior doors. Wind pressure through an open door or garage can lift a roof from inside.

Do the visual inspection promptly, while any damage is obvious and before you forget the event happened.

Photograph anything you find, including a wide shot that establishes context. If a claim follows, the timing evidence — damage documented immediately after a specific wind event — is what supports it. Roof damage discovered in January and attributed to an October wind event is a harder argument if there's no record.

Get openings covered. Any breach in the roof or the envelope needs to be secured before the next weather, and emergency board-up and roof tarping is available 24/7 for exactly this. A tarp buys weeks, which is enough time to get a roofer scheduled properly rather than in an emergency.

Report to your carrier. Wind is a covered peril under standard policies, and emergency mitigation costs are covered as well. Your policy also generally requires you to take reasonable steps to prevent further damage — a documented tarp installation satisfies that obligation.

Wind accelerates over terrain, so hillside and ridgeline properties in Chevy Chase Canyon, the Verdugo foothills and the canyon neighborhoods experience meaningfully higher wind speeds than valley-floor addresses in the same event.

There's a compounding factor too. Santa Ana conditions are also peak fire conditions, and a wind event that damages your roof may be followed within days by a fire event that fills your house with smoke. Both are claimable, and both benefit from documentation at the time.

Then winter arrives, and any opening the wind created becomes a water intrusion point. The three seasons are connected, which is why we treat post-wind inspection as part of rainy season preparation rather than a separate task. Our full rainy season preparation checklist covers the rest.