Power Shutoffs Expected In These Places As Fires Rage In SoCal

CALIFORNIA — Over half a million electric customers in Southern California were at risk of losing power in a public safety shutoff as the region entered its second week of deadly and destructive fires ravaging the Los Angeles area. Monday night, tens of thousands of customers were already experiencing the shutoffs, according to utility providers.

Shutoffs were in place as of about 11 p.m. Monday for 55,785 SCE customers, including:

• 24,310 in Los Angeles County
• 20,014 in Ventura County
• 4,082 in Riverside County
• 6,347 in San Bernardino County
• 972 in Orange County
• 60 in Santa Barbara County.

Many customers spent days without power since the start of last week's historic Santa Ana windstorm, and they may find themselves in the dark, once again, as the Santa Anas return Monday.

Of SCE’s 5 million customers, additional shutoffs were being considered for 492,064 in the following areas as of Monday:

• Kern County: 18,227
• Los Angeles County: 125,964
• Orange County: 23,930
• Riverside County: 149,204
• San Bernardino County: 84,261
• Santa Barbara County: 2,417
• Ventura County: 88,061

In San Diego County, which is served by SDG&E, no customers were experiencing a shutoff, but 54,937 could be affected by one.

The Los Angeles Department Of Water and Power does not have such a shutoff program, according to The New York Times, which reported that electric utility consultant Robert McCullough described the utility’s fire prevention plan as “woefully inadequate.”

Public safety power shutoffs occur as a measure of last resort during dangerous weather conditions to prevent the electric system from igniting wildfires.

Two dozen people have now perished in the Palisades and Eaton fires, Los Angeles County's medical examiner announced Sunday night.

As of mid-day Monday, about 17,600 LA DWP customers were without power, mostly in fire-affected areas of Pacific Palisades and Brentwood where lines remain deactivated as a public safety measure, according to DWP. Other communities experiencing outages included Venice, Encino, Sylmar, and Sunland. Customers experiencing outages were told to expect crews to respond 24-48 hours from the time the outages are reported, with restoration times possibly taking longer.

DWP crews will restore power in fire zones once cleared by fire authorities, according to Los Angeles City officials. As of 7 p.m., DWP had restored power to all customers except about 17,000 in fire threat areas, where authorities had requested lines be de-energized.

Forecasters again warned of dangerous weather with the return of strong winds this week. The National Weather Service issued red flag warnings for severe fire conditions through Wednesday, with sustained winds of 50 mph and gusts in the mountains reaching 70 mph.

Customers at risk of a shutoff are advised to keep important telephone numbers near their home’s main phone, have easy access to flashlights, install surge protectors for valuable electronics and learn to manually open any automatic garage doors or gates.

For more information and for the latest alert numbers, visit www.sce.com/outage-center/outage-information/psps and www.sdge.com/psps-dashboard.