I just received the following email from the Anza-Borrego foundation:

If you happened to be in Southern California yesterday, you noticed the strong winds. In the Anza-Borrego Desert the windstorm reached as high as 83 MPH. We are writing with an urgent request for funds to help repair/replace parts of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park infrastructure.

Yesterday’s windstorm damaged quite a few critical items in the park. The Stout Paleontology lab is missing about 800 square feet of roof.

Numerous trail and safety signs were uprooted and blown away. Camp Borrego’s three remaining Mongolian Gers were flattened.

Roofs over the parking structure were damaged beyond repair. Rocks flew up and broke several windows in the park ranger and maintenance staff vehicles. We don’t yet know the full cost of these damages, but they will likely be in the thousands of dollars.

ABF is accepting donations to help repair and replace these items and more. If you would like to help, you can make an immediate impact. Donations may be directed to the park so they can put the funds to use right away. Your donations to Anza-Borrego Foundation allow us to act quickly to solve urgent problems, like we experienced yesterday.

Thanks for supporting the park,

Paige Rogowski, Development Director