Students struggled to ride their bikes even on flat ground yesterday, as strong winds swept the campus.

The blustery conditions are expected to continue through today, according to the National Weather Service. A wind advisory has been in place since Tuesday, and gusts reaching upwards of 36 mph were recorded over the past two days.

Several thousand residents throughout the Santa Barbara area were temporarily without power as a result of the wind.

Southern California Edison and the Santa Barbara County Fire Dept. have also been kept busy as a result of the winds, which have knocked over multiple power lines, leading to the power outages and causing potential for fires.

According to a spokesman for SCE, high winds knocked down power lines along Cliff Drive yesterday — presumably from tree branches being blown into the lines — leaving 1,075 customers without power. Furthermore, a downed power line on Sycamore Canyon Road left another 875 homes without power.

There were at least half a dozen other reported incidents related to the wind yesterday, as well as a number of small fires. All fires were extinguished quickly, according to the Fire Dept.
On a lighter note, at least one resourceful student used the wind to his benefit by building a sail of PVC pipe and canvas to attach to his skateboard.