A SPECIAL REPORT: WINDFALL

Roofing Boom

Almost as soon as last week’s strong winds died, the switchboard sprang to life at the Glendale and Glenoaks offices of Randol Roofing. “We are getting a couple hundred calls a day,” crowed owner Howard Randol. “It’s like a battleground out there.” Randol will be busy for months as it is, “and it hasn’t even rained [heavily] yet.”

Cash Infusion

For firms like Randol’s, winds mean money as hundreds of Valley homeowners repair mostly minor but widespread damage from the 77-mph blasts. . . . More business will come as insurance companies make payouts: State Farm Insurance, for example, says it has received more than 600 claims, mostly from Glendale.

Cleaning Up

Tree services and roofers aren’t alone. Jared Smith, manager of Pro Equipment Rentals in Granada Hills, hasn’t had a chain saw in his store all week. . . . At Armstrong Garden Centers in Northridge, there’s a run on clay pots to replace those that were shattered, and on stakes to hold up broken trees. . . . Charles Trom of Foothill Door & Window in La Crescenta says he’s doing a brisk business fixing windows and even front doors blasted out by the storm.