Hurricane Fausto Wallops Baja, Deals Tourists Blow

Hurricane Fausto battered Baja California on Friday, downing power poles, smashing windows and disrupting tourism on the usually sunny coast before speeding across the Gulf of California to menace the Mexican mainland.

At least one person, an American, was reported killed when a power line toppled onto a trailer near Cabo San Lucas. More than 2,500 people, mostly in poor neighborhoods around La Paz, were evacuated to shelters at schools, the Red Cross said.

Waves up to 15 feet walloped Pacific beaches along the southern tip of Baja. Fausto’s winds and heavy rains forced ports to close and car rental agencies to shut rather than let their vehicles out into the storm.

Beach hotels all along the coast ordered guests out of their rooms to avoid being hit by broken glass. Hotel workers herded the guests into basements or interior meeting halls far away from fragile windows.

“All this for $200 a night,” said one American visitor, Stanley Cohen. “I took a chance on the hurricane season and lost.”

Fausto claimed its first victim on Friday. Erick Hite of San Diego was killed when a power line blew onto his trailer at the Las Brisas trailer park, according to the government’s Notimex news agency.

It was not clear whether Hite was living in the park or just visiting.

Power flickered on and off and telephone systems broke down in much of the area as the hurricane came ashore Friday afternoon at Todos Santos. Winds that had reached 105 mph in the morning fell to 95 mph as Fausto neared land, and 85 mph upon landfall.