# What should you check on your fence after a Santa Ana windstorm? > What to check on a fence after strong Santa Ana winds: why solid panels take the load, how to tell one failed post from a failing run, and what to leave alone. URL: https://caskfencetemecula.com/blog/after-a-santa-ana-windstorm-fence-check/ Seasonal A walk-the-line checklist for the morning after offshore winds: what moved, why solid fences catch the worst of it, and when one broken post is just one broken post. Last Updated: October 31, 2026 Look before you touch. A fence that leaned overnight can still fall. a post broken at grade, where rot starts b solid panel caught the full gust 1. **a** post broken at grade, where rot starts 2. **b** solid panel caught the full gust After a Santa Ana windstorm, walk the whole fence line and look before you touch anything: check each post where it meets the ground, then the rails, the boards or panels, and every gate. Solid privacy fences take the hardest hit, and a single snapped post is a different job from a run where every post has tilted the same way. Key takeaways - Stay clear of downed power lines and any section that’s still moving. Call the utility or 911 for lines. - If the fence is part of a pool barrier, keep the pool closed off until the gap is secured. - Check posts at grade first. That’s where wind, rot and termites meet. - One broken post with sound neighbors is usually a repair. A run leaning the same way points to the post system. - Photograph everything before cleanup. ## Why solid fences take the load Santa Ana winds blow offshore, from the dry interior toward the coast, and a six-foot solid fence across that path works like a sail. The City of Temecula’s building handout lists a design wind speed of 97 mph with Exposure C, the category for open terrain. A solid panel catches that pressure across its full height and passes it into the rails, then the fasteners, then the posts, and finally the footing at the ground line. The post is a lever, and the longest arm is the fence above it. Open fencing behaves differently. [Wrought iron](https://caskfencetemecula.com/wrought-iron-fence-installation/), ranch rail and wire let most of the wind through, so the same gust puts far less force on each post. Board-on-board and shadowbox styles leave small gaps but still behave much like a solid fence. The [privacy fence styles guide](https://caskfencetemecula.com/guide/privacy-fence-styles/) compares them. ## The walk-the-line checklist Start at one end and work down the fence slowly. Look from your own side unless the neighbor is with you. **Posts at the ground.** Look for cracks, a post that has snapped off just above grade, soil heaved up on one side, or a gap opening between the post and its concrete. A wood post that broke at grade often shows soft, dark wood inside, which means rot or termites had already weakened it. The [termites and rot guide](https://caskfencetemecula.com/guide/wood-fence-termites-rot/) explains why the ground line fails first. **Lean.** Sight down the line. A fence that leans at one post has a local problem. A fence that leans along its whole length has a system problem. **Rails and fasteners.** Rails pulled off their brackets, split at the nail line or hanging loose mean the wind load moved through the connections. Vinyl rails can pop out of their post routes, and vinyl can crack, especially where it was already brittle. **Boards and panels.** Missing boards are the easy part. A panel that bowed and sprang back can hide a cracked rail. **Gates.** Swing every gate. A gate that drags, won’t latch or sits lower on the latch side has usually moved its hinge post. The [sagging gate guide](https://caskfencetemecula.com/guide/fix-sagging-gate/) covers what that tells you. **Walls under the fence.** If the fence sits on a block or retaining wall, look at the wall too. New cracks or a wall that has moved need a masonry or engineering look, not a fence repair. ## One post or the whole run? This is the decision that sets the cost. If one or two posts broke or leaned and the posts on either side are solid and plumb, replacing those posts and reattaching the rails is usually enough. A national budgeting range for a fence post replacement is about $120 to $400 per post, and a typical repair job runs about $200 to $950. If most posts tilted the same direction, several failed at grade, the boards are brittle and the fence is decades old, the wind found a fence that was already near the end. Patching it can mean paying for repairs on a line that still needs replacing. The [repair or replace guide](https://caskfencetemecula.com/guide/fence-repair-or-replace/) walks through the signs, and the [fence repair assessment](https://caskfencetemecula.com/tools/fence-repair-assessment/) gives a planning answer from a few questions. Either way, posts here are sized to the fence height, the wind and the soil at your lot, not to a fixed depth; the [posts and soil guide](https://caskfencetemecula.com/guide/fence-posts-temecula-soil/) explains why. ## Safety first, paperwork second Treat any downed wire near a fence as live and keep everyone away. If a fallen section opened a pool barrier, the pool is unprotected until the gap is closed, so keep the area locked off and consider a temporary panel; [temporary fence rental](https://caskfencetemecula.com/temporary-fence-rental/) covers that kind of stopgap. Keep pets in until the line is whole. Don’t dig new post holes in a hurry. Any digging needs a DigAlert ticket at least two working days ahead, and the private lines to pool equipment and landscape lighting won’t be marked. On a shared fence, California Civil Code 841 presumes neighbors share the reasonable cost and asks for 30 days’ written notice describing the work; the [good neighbor fence law guide](https://caskfencetemecula.com/guide/good-neighbor-fence-law/) has the details. [Cask Fence Temecula](https://caskfencetemecula.com/) plans and manages fence repair and replacement across Temecula and southwest Riverside County, with the work carried out by licensed and insured contractors. Send a few photos of the damage through the [contact page](https://caskfencetemecula.com/contact/) or call (951) 944-2778, and say whether the fence is shared or part of a pool barrier. ## Questions about this post ### Should I push a wind-damaged fence back upright myself? Not if posts have snapped or footings have lifted. A leaning section is often held only by the rails and boards still attached to it, and pushing it can drop the whole panel. Brace it away from people, pets and the pool if you can do that from a safe side, take photos, and leave the reset for when the posts can be dug out or replaced. ### Why did the solid part of my fence blow down and the open part didn't? A solid panel blocks the wind across its whole face, so the full force goes into the rails, the fasteners and finally the posts at grade. Open iron, rail or wire lets most of the wind through and carries far less load. Temecula's building department designs to a 97 mph wind speed in Exposure C, the open-terrain category, which is the load a solid fence's posts have to resist. ### Who pays to fix a shared fence the wind knocked down? California Civil Code 841 presumes that neighbors share the reasonable cost of maintaining a dividing fence, unless a written agreement says otherwise. It also calls for 30 days' written notice describing the problem, the fix, the cost and the timeline. Where a fallen fence leaves a pool open or animals loose, a temporary barrier can go up while the repair is sorted out. ## Keep reading Decision Guide Should you repair or replace a fence? One broken post and a fence that is failing post after post look alike from the patio. Here is how to tell them apart, and what changes the answer in Temecula. Learn Do termites attack wood fences in Temecula? Termites, rot and sun each break down a wood fence in a different place and for a different reason. Knowing which one you have tells you what will actually help. Learn How do you fix a sagging gate? A gate that drags or won't latch has moved somewhere: at the post, in the frame or at the hinges. The fix depends on which one, and tightening screws only solves the last. Decision Guide Which privacy fence style is right for your yard? How much you see through a fence, how much wind it catches and how it looks from the neighbor's side are all set by the way the boards are hung. Learn How deep should fence posts go in Temecula soil? Why fences lean, what the auger hits under Temecula-area lots, and how height, wind and the fence system decide how deep and how wide a post footing has to be.