Mexico ? Hurricane Jimena weakened into a tropical storm Wednesday as it plowed over Baja California, tearing off roofs, knocking down power poles and bringing welcome rainfall to a drought-stricken state.

The storm made landfall Wednesday afternoon between Puerto San Andresito and San Jaunico, a sparsely populated area of fishing villages on the Pacific coast of the peninsula.

Wind gusts and heavy rains blew down dozens of trees and lamp posts in Loreto, the nearest significant resort town to the area where Jimena made landfall, according to Humberto Carmona, a city official manning an emergency response center. About 500 people were in shelters in Loreto, which lies roughly on the other side of the narrow peninsula from where Jimena made landfall.

The federal government said more than 11,000 people went to shelters in the peninsula.