Gusting Winds to 90 mph Prompt Closure of Palm Springs Aerial Tramway

Update 1:16 p.m. Gusts up to 99 miles per hour were measured between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. Saturday in Burns Canyon on the northeast side of the San Bernardino Mountains, Cindy Palmer of the National Weather Service said in a phone interview. 

Posted 1:06 p.m. Winds gusting up to 90 miles per hour at the top of Chino Canyon prompted closure of the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway on Saturday, and about 20 people were temporarily stranded at the mountain station as of 12:50 p.m., a spokeswoman for the attraction said.

The decision to close the tram was made about 11:15 a.m. Saturday, and there were about 170 people at the mountain station at the time, Lena Zimmerschied of the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway said.

"We're bringing them down as wind allows," Zimmerschied said in a phone interview. "We had gusts of 80 to 90 miles per hour at the mountain station."

The mountain station is at 8,516 feet elevation in San Jacinto alpine high country, and the valley station at the bottom of Chino Canyon in Palm Springs is at 2,643 feet.

Once the remaining 20 people are brought down, the tram will remain closed for the day, Zimmerschied said. Tram officials plan to re-open the attraction at 8 a.m. Sunday.