Power Shutting Down In These Places As Dangerous Winds Fuel Fires In SoCal

CALIFORNIA — More than 250,000 electric customers in Southern California may lose power Monday in a public safety shutoff as the area faced a third week of deadly wildfires in the Los Angeles area.

The National Weather Service issued a warning for parts of Los Angeles and Ventura counties, calling it a particularly dangerous situation through Tuesday morning with wind gusts of 50 to 70 mph along the coasts and in the valleys and 60 to 100 mph in the foothills and the mountains. Low humidity is adding to the danger.

As of 1 p.m. Monday, more than 5,800 customers already have had their power shut off, according to the electric companies.

Southern California Edison said the following public safety shutoffs are in place:

• Los Angeles County 2,756 customers
• Riverside County 265 customers
• San Bernardino County 2,800 customers
• Ventura County 56 customers

Of SCE’s 5 million customers, additional shutoffs were being considered for 247,024 customers:

• Kern County 2,326 customers
• Los Angeles County 40,615 customers
• Mono County 158 customers
• Orange County 11,042 customers
• Riverside County 83,209 customers
• San Bernardino County 57,275 customers
• Ventura County 52,399 customers

SCE said residents can check specifics for their address on its Outage Center webpage.

Scheduled outages can be viewed at the Outage Center as well, with dates and approximate times for the outages included.

In San Diego County, which is served by SDG&E, 938 were experiencing a shutoff, and 82,693 could be affected by one as of 1 p.m. Monday.

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

At least 27 people have died in the the Palisades and Eaton fires, authorities have said.

Windy weather and single-digit humidity are expected to linger through Thursday, Rich Thompson, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service, told the Associated Press. He said the fire risk is also elevated because the region hasn’t seen rain since April.

As of mid-day Monday, about 7,300 LA DWP customers were without power, mostly in fire-affected areas of Pacific Palisades and Brentwood. Toluca Lake had about 420 customers without power, and crews working there to restore service.

LADWP also said a "Do Not Drink" order remains in effect for tap water users in Pacific Palisades Zip Code 90272, and adjacent communities in the LADWP Service Area immediately south of the 90272 zip code are north of San Vicente Boulevard. The interactive LADWP Service Area Map App can help show if a home falls within the designated areas.

Affected customers are urged to not drink or cook with the tap water until further notice. LADWP is distributing water bottles for free to help those impacted. Click here for more information.

The public safety electricity shutoffs will last as long as the dangerous fire weather conditions persist, the companies said.

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"When weather improves, we will inspect our lines for damage before restoring power," SCE said. "This typically takes up to eight hours but could take longer if we need daylight for safe inspections," the company said.

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.

The strong winds come as firefighters continue to battle two major blazes in the Los Angeles area, the Palisades and Eaton fires, which have destroyed more than 14,000 structures since they broke out during fierce winds on Jan. 7. The Palisades fire was 52 percent contained on Sunday and the Eaton fire 81 percent contained, according to fire officials.

Firefighters have made progress on the perimeter of the Palisades fire, which has blackened more than 37 square miles (96 square kilometers) near the Pacific coast, but there are areas in the interior that continue to burn, said Dan Collins, a spokesperson for the Palisades fire incident.

"There is always a possibility in a red flag warning something hot, or some type of burning material from the interior, could be perhaps whipped up and blown across the containment lines," Collins said.

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.