9.5 Miles Of New Power Lines: How Power Was Restored To Palisades Homes Left Standing

PACIFIC PALISADES, CA — Power has been restored to "most" homes and businesses impacted by the Palisades Fire and within the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power's jurisdiction, Mayor Karen Bass announced Tuesday.

DWP crews have been working 16-hour shifts every day of the week since the fire broke out to safely restore electric service to the Palisades area. As of last Thursday, power had been restored to 5,718 customers in the neighborhood, the utility said.

Officials at that time said they were hoping to restore an estimated 1,200 remaining residential customers' power by Sunday, Feb. 9. That number included only homes "capable of having power safely restored," DWP said.

on Tuesday morning, the utility's progress was lauded by Bass.

"LADWP has been working around the clock to restore power to the Palisades area, and their work has paid off," Bass said in a statement. "Restoring power to customers in areas around the heaviest burned area will continue to be the biggest challenge moving forward, but as we continue to work urgently on recovery efforts, LADWP will continue to meet the needs of this unprecedented disaster."

The Department of Water and Power continues to complete temporary repairs, connecting individual customers to circuits that crews brought back online. Crews first verify that each residential electric panel is restored, then leave a notice for residents to turn on their main circuit at the panel.

Some restorations can take more time depending on how complex the repairs are, which crews can see once they temporarily restore power to a circuit, according to DWP.

As of last week, DWP said crews have removed some 700 burned and destroyed poles, installed around 9.5 miles of new 4.8 KV cable and replaced more than 2,000 feet of secondary wire.

Officials said power customers should check their circuit breakers if their properties remain without power. Outages can be reported online or by calling 800-342-5397.

Meanwhile, the department continues to make progress on restoring water service in the Pacific Palisades area while also addressing water quality challenges, officials said.

Residents were asked to call DWP to report water outages. The DWP has a "Do Not Drink" notice in effect for most of the Pacific Palisades and other nearby communities north of San Vicente Boulevard.

The Palisades Fire destroyed 6,835 structures, including homes and commercial buildings, and damaged another 973, according to Cal Fire.

LADWP reminded customers whose homes or businesses were damaged or destroyed in the fire and received a past-due notice to "please disregard it."

City News Service contributed to this report.