NORTH COUNTY -- Santa Ana winds blew through inland North County on Monday, causing small spot fires and power outages, authorities said.

Steve Mandich heard the sound of money blowing away when his wife put the phone outside the door of their Paradise Mountain home in the Lake Wohlford section of Valley Center and he envisioned the damage to his avocado grove.

"The wind is howling," Mandich, an Escondido firefighter-paramedic, said Monday evening. "She says it's been blowing all day up there. All my avocados are on the ground. It's raining green gold."

A red flag fire warning from the National Weather Service was in effect for San Diego County's mountain areas because of the wind, dry weather and dry brush. Still, authorities said little damage had been reported by Monday evening.

A fire erupted shortly after 11:30 a.m. Monday at the edge of an avocado grove in the Stewart Canyon Road area, south of Rainbow, sending sheriff's deputies, field workers and firefighters scrambling for a short time.

"The fire was going pretty good, but it was small," said sheriff's Sgt. Joel Wigand. "It was out within a few minutes of the call, so we didn't have to do any evacuations. It (weather) was ripe for it. It was definitely a concern."

The red flag warning will remain in effect until 4 p.m. today, with strong and gusty Santa Anas of up to 60 mph.

National Weather Service forecaster Noel Isla said he expected partly cloudy skies today with a wind advisory of 15 to 25 mph in the valleys and gusts in the 40s. A high wind warning in the mountains would remain in effect until 2 p.m. today, with winds at 20 to 30 mph, gusting to 60 mph, Isla said.

Daytime temperatures were running 70 to 75 degrees Monday in North County, with the coastal areas slightly warmer.

"There will be slight cooling through the week, one or two degrees a day," Isla said.

There's a very slight chance of showers Friday before a partly cloudy weekend, he said. "but it's still too far out to tell."

Power lines took a beating at times Monday from the high winds and their effects.

About 5:30 p.m. Monday, 2,173 customers were without electricity in the Fallbrook area, according to the San Diego Gas & Electric Co.

They were back on line by 8:20 p.m., but by then another 216 customers were waiting for power by 10:30 p.m. in the Pala Mesa, Bonsall, Palomar Mountain, Pauma Valley, Lilac and Lake Henshaw areas.

Contact staff writer Jo Moreland at (760) 740-3524 or jmoreland@nctimes.com. To comment, visit nctimes.com.