Santa Ana Winds and Fire Season: A Screen Checklist

Fall in San Diego means Santa Ana winds: hot, dry gusts blowing from the east and northeast, often strongest in the inland valleys and foothills. They pop screens out of windows, push sliding screen doors off their tracks, and blow dust and ash into every gap. A quick check now, before the next red flag warning, takes about as long as a walk around the house.

1. Look for tears and gaps

Ash and grit get in the same way bugs do: through holes, loose edges and gaps around the frame. Walk each room and look at every screen against the light.

• Holes and tears. Any hole you can see is a way in. Wind makes a small tear bigger fast.
• Mesh pulling away at the edges. If the mesh has slipped out of the frame at a corner, the spline (the rubber cord that holds it) has usually worn out. That is a rescreen: $45 for a standard window and $95 for a sliding screen door.
• Gaps around the frame. A screen that doesn't sit flat in its opening leaves a gap at the side or bottom.
• Brittle, faded mesh. Sun-baked mesh tears in the first strong gust. If it cracks when you press it, it is time for new mesh.

2. Check for frames that pop out

Standard window screens are held in by small springs and a snug fit. When the frame is bent, the springs are tired, or the screen was cut a little small, gusts rattle it loose and it drops out, sometimes over the fence or off a balcony.

• Press each corner. A screen that shifts or rattles in its opening is the one that blows out.
• Sight down the frame. A bowed or kinked side won't hold tight. A bent frame gets a new window screen built to fit, $55 for a standard one.
• Know where the wind hits. Santa Anas usually come from the east and northeast, so screens on that side of the house, and on upstairs windows and balconies, take the most.
• If one is already loose and a big wind is coming, take it out and lay it flat in the garage. It is easier to put a screen back than to find one in a neighbor's yard.

3. Keep sliding screen doors on track

A sliding screen door is light, and a strong gust catches it like a sail. A door left part-way open can slam, jump the track, or bend at the corners.

• Close it all the way and latch it on windy days, or slide it fully open behind the glass door where the wind can't reach it.
• Clean the track. Santa Anas blow grit into the bottom track, and a door with sand under its rollers rides high and jumps out. Vacuum the track and wipe it down.
• Check the rollers. A door that rattles in the track or lifts out easily usually needs its rollers adjusted or replaced. Our guide to a screen door that keeps coming off track walks through it.
• Bent frame? A rescreen won't fix a door that no longer slides straight. A new sliding screen door starts at $329, and we do screen door repair too.

4. Roll retractable screens back in high wind

A retractable screen door is at its best on a calm evening. In strong gusts, a screen pulled across the doorway bows in the wind and can pull out of its side guides.

• Roll it back into the housing when you aren't using it on a windy day, and walk it back by the pull bar instead of letting it snap.
• Clean the guides afterwards. Dust and grit in the bottom guide are the most common reason a retractable sticks. See retractable screen door not retracting.
• Mesh out of the guide? Don't force it, and don't open the housing: the spring inside is under tension. We service Roll Away retractables.

5. Clean ash off the mesh, gently

After a fire anywhere upwind, fine ash settles on screens and in tracks. It comes off easily if you go slowly.

1. Protect yourself. Wear gloves and a well-fitting mask, and keep kids and pets away while you clean.
2. Skip the leaf blower. It puts the ash back in the air, and often back on the screens.
3. Mist, then brush. Lightly wet the screen so the ash doesn't fly, then brush it with a soft brush. Screens that pop out can come down and be laid flat on the driveway or a tarp.
4. Rinse on a gentle spray. A garden hose is plenty. A pressure washer can stretch the mesh and push the spline out of the frame.
5. Do the tracks too. Vacuum the window and door tracks so ash and grit don't grind under the rollers.

If the mesh tears or pulls loose while you clean, it was already near the end. That is a normal rescreen.

Get it fixed in one visit

We come to you anywhere in the county and do the work at your home. Torn screens get new mesh, bent ones get a new frame built to fit, and sliding screen doors get rescreened or replaced, most of it in one visit. Text us a photo of what the wind did and we'll quote it. Most visits are booked within two weeks, often sooner in winter.

Common questions