Over 8K Without Power, Over 66K More Under Power Shutoff Warning In San Diego County

SAN DIEGO, CA — More than 8,000 San Diego Gas and Electric customers were without power Friday morning and tens of thousands of other residents could lose power as critical fire weather conditions prompt public safety power shutoffs in parts of the region.

As of Friday morning, 8,153 SDG&E customers were without power in communities across the county in an effort to reduce wildfire risk due to low humidity and strong Santa Ana winds. The power shutoffs come after SDG&E restored power to all customers impacted by public safety power shutoffs earlier this week.

"After restoring power to all customers impacted by public safety power shutoffs on Thursday afternoon, SDG&E implemented additional de-energizations late Thursday into early Friday due to the return of strong Santa Ana winds," the utility company said in a news release. "Santa Ana winds are expected to continue in the coming days, and SDG&E encourages everyone to remain prepared."

More customers could lose power Friday as this week marks the driest start to the rainy season in San Diego County in the past 174 years, according to SDG&E. A total of 66,499 additional customers could be affected by the outages.

A red flag warning is in effect until 6 p.m. Friday for the county's mountains and valleys.

A list of impacted communities and community resource centers is available at sdge.com/ready.

Community resource centers will remain open for impacted communities until power has been fully restored, according to SDG&E. The centers are equipped with wi-fi, as well as charging stations for phone and medical devices.