Tree Traps Driver During Sundowner Winds

Strong winds toppled a tree in Goleta and smashed the windshield of a car trapping the driver inside.

Cathy Schermer, a registered nurse, said she was leaving the parking lot at work when the largest tree came down. Good Sumaritans moved branches to help her get out.

Schermer thanked Santa Barbara County firefighters for using chainsaws to get her car out.

She said her biggest fear was having another tree fall on her after she got out.

Montecito firefighters said they didn’t expect the winds to be so strong.

They made sure a car fire on the southbound 101 in Summerland didn’t spark a brush fire.

Firefighters did the same thing near Refugio, where California Highway Patrol officers said a street sweeper caught fire on the Northbound side of the 101 freeway.