A Southern California paragliding instructor captured video of a large dust devil swirling near a grass landing area outside Perris earlier this month, just moments after she and fellow jumpers had touched down from a training jump. Jessica Laird filmed the whirlwind on September 4 and later confirmed the footage to Storyful, describing the turbulence she and others felt on landing and saying she felt thankful to be on the ground when the vortex appeared.
A Close Call Caught on Camera
According to KTLA, Laird was identified by Storyful as the paragliding instructor behind the video, which shows the dust devil forming near the paragliders' grass landing zone shortly after her group completed training jumps. Laird and the others reportedly felt turbulent air upon landing, and she discovered the dust devil a few moments later. She said she felt thankful to be on the ground rather than still descending when it took shape.
The footage lands in a region where large dust devils are considered a major hazard in landing areas, and where parachute collapses caused by these whirlwinds have injured or killed paragliders before, per the same KTLA report. That danger became tragically clear near Perris in August 2024, when a fatal accident during a routine tandem jump killed both the instructor and her student.
The 2024 Perris Tragedy
During that jump, 28-year-old skydiving instructor Devrey LaRiccia Chase and her student encountered two separate dust devils while landing. The pair avoided the first one, but the second sent Chase's canopy into a downward spiral, according to KTLA's account of the incident. The collapse caused Chase and her student to fall 25 to 30 feet and slam into the ground; both were taken to a nearby hospital, where both later died from their injuries. Her husband, Freddy Chase, was identified in coverage of the incident. The student who was injured alongside Chase was later identified as 28-year-old Kayla Black of Orange County, according to SFGATE.
Experts who examined that 2024 accident noted that dust devils moving over grass landing fields become virtually invisible, since there's no loose dirt or sand for them to lift, leaving jumpers with little warning of severe wind shear directly in their landing path, as reported by FOX 11 Los Angeles. That invisibility is part of what makes the phenomenon so dangerous for pilots on final approach, since a clear grassy field can mask a violent, unseen updraft until it is too late to react.
Perris's Ongoing Aviation Risks
The Perris Valley corridor has continued to see serious incidents beyond the 2024 tragedy. In May 2026, a skydiving incident near Perris Valley Airport killed 57-year-old visiting jumper Pascal Pierre Petetin of Tahiti and critically injured another jumper during a group descent, according to SFGATE. The region has a broader history of parachuting fatalities.
Turbulence can cause a canopy to collapse, per Skydivemag. That vulnerability helps explain why even a brief, localized whirlwind can force a flexible canopy into an uncontrolled dive with little time for a pilot to recover at low altitude.
Federal Warnings and Local Safety Measures
Dust devils can pose risks to pilots and aerial operators. Federal Aviation Administration standards also address skydiving and light aircraft, per the FAA rules cited by the Los Angeles Times.
To help jumpers detect unseen whirlwinds over a grass landing area, pilots on final approach can watch for opposing wind directions that may signal a hidden dust devil. Ground-level dust devils can affect wings and pilots after landing.
Why Perris Sees So Many Dust Devils
Southern California's Inland Empire, including the Perris Valley, can experience dust devils during periods of strong surface heating. Perris Valley dust devils have produced recorded wind gusts of 49 mph and caused damage, according to the same outlet.
The National Weather Service defines dust devils as a common wind phenomenon occurring throughout much of the world, created by dust-filled vortices from strong surface heating, according to KTLA's report. They typically measure 10 to 300 feet in diameter and reach an average height of 500 to 1,000 feet, generally smaller than tornadoes, though they can reach maximum speeds of roughly 60 miles per hour. Most dust devils last only a few minutes before dissipating, though the outlet notes some can persist longer.
