350,000 SoCal Residents Could Lose Power Amid Windstorm. Here's Where:

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA — Hundreds of thousands of Southlanders could lose power on Monday as powerful, dry gusts whip through the region, raising concerns about wildfires sparking.

Utility companies administering power from San Diego to Kern counties could cut off electricity for more than 350,000 customers intermittently through Wednesday as much of Southern California fell under a rare "Particularly Dangerous Situation" red flag warning issued by the National Weather Service on Monday.

The last time this type of warning came down on Nov. 6, the Mountain Fire sparked in Ventura County and later became the most destructive wildfire in the region since 2013.

"Any fire starts have the potential to grow rapidly," NWS officials warned.

The rest of the area was under a normal red flag warning, which took effect at 10 a.m. and will last through 4 a.m. on Wednesday as "strong, gusty" Santa Ana winds, coupled with dry air will sweep through the Southland.

"A combination of strong winds, low relative humidity and warm temperatures cancontribute to extreme fire behavior," NWS forecasters said in a Monday morning update.

To lessen the potential of downed power lines sparking a fire, utility companies with customers in Ventura, Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Riverside counties may cut off power through at least Wednesday. Southern California Edison indicated the largest number of customers, more than 250,000, who may be impacted. The company has more than 5 million customers.

Public Safety Power Shutoffs could take effect from at least noon Monday to noon on Wednesday.

Planned Outages

San Diego Gas & Electric, Pacific Gas & Electric and Southern California Edison have all released alerts of Public Safety Power Shutoffs.

• San Diego Gas & Electric : 117,466 SDGE customers in San Diego and Orange counties.
• Southern California Edison: 250,011 customers in Kern (3,825 customers), Los Angeles (43,431 customers), Orange (10,503), Riverside (62,411), San Bernardino (61,704 customers), Ventura (68130 customers) and San Diego (7 customers) counties.
• Pacific Gas & Electric: About 600 customers in Kern County.

Once the windstorm dies down, the utility companies said their crews will restore any power outages as quickly as possible.

In recent years, California power companies have increasingly relied on Public Safety Power Shutoffs as a "last resort" measure to prevent wildfires. These shutoffs are triggered by high-risk weather forecasts provided by scientists and meteorologists.

This week, officials advise the public to report downed power lines by calling 911

"We understand that a PSPS event can create hardships for affected customers, and the decision to shut off power is never taken lightly," SCE said.

The practice was put in place after multiple destructive and deadly fires in California that were sparked by downed lines and traced back to power companies. According to SCE, shutoffs can prevent a utility company's "electric system from becoming a source of ignition."

Residents are encouraged to be prepared for electricity to be shut off and plan especially for senior neighbors, family and friends. See this emergency preparedness list here. Additional information about unplanned power outages can be found here.