Today’s scheduled WERA West races at California Speedway in Fontana, California have been cancelled due to high winds with gusts up to 65 mph.

The winds were strong enough to make the lightpoles around the California Speedway oval sway and to make parked motorcycles fall off their stands.

According to WERA Operations Manager Sean Clarke, the race had to be cancelled because the gusts were unpredictable and the wind was so strong that a medevac helicopter could not land if needed.

Clarke said that entries would be refunded and a replacement event scheduled for later in the year.

No bikes got on track today, with practice postponed in the hope that the winds would die down. At about 11:00 a.m. PST, race officials declared the event cancelled.

Weather at the track was nearly perfect Saturday, with little or no wind during alternating race practice and track ride sessions. But on Friday winds were so strong that nearby Ontario International Airport was closed.

California Speedway sits in an area of Southern California famous for high winds rushing alongside the adjacent San Gabriel Mountains during the winter months.

Newspapers and TV news shows routinely show semi-trucks blown over on their sides during wind storms in the area, with the worst wind typically occurring near the intersection of Interstate 15 and Interstate 10, a few miles from California Speedway.