304K SoCal Edison Customers Could See Power Shutoffs Wednesday
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — Southern California Edison warned it could shut off power to more than 304,000 customers Wednesday and Thursday as the most powerful Santa Ana wind event of the season is expected to descend on the region.
The National Weather Service has issued a red flag warning which went into effect 11 p.m. Tuesday and will remain in place through 6 p.m. Thursday. Forecasters predict it could be the strongest Santa Ana event the Southland has seen this season, with isolated gusts up to 80 miles per hour and relative humidity down to 3 percent.
Due to the elevated fire risk, SoCal Edison has listed areas which could see planned power outages.
As of 10 p.m. Tuesday, the list was as follows:
- Los Angeles County: 86,305 customers: This includes Agoura Hills, Calabasas, Palmdale, Malibu, San Fernando, Chatsworth and Santa Clarita.
- San Bernardino County: 63,271 customers: This includes the city of San Bernardino, Morongo Valley, Crestline, Oak Glen and Devore.
- Ventura County: 78,487 customers: This includes Simi Valle, Santa Paula, Moorpark, Bell Canyon, Fillmore and Camarillo.
- Riverside County: 33,816 customers: This includes Murrieta, Banning, Perris, Corona, San Jacinto, Palm Springs and Desert Hot Springs.
- Orange County: 7,071 customers: This includes Lake Forest and Orange.
The city of Calabasas reported that SoCal Edison could shut off power between 12 p.m. and 3 p.m. Wednesday for the area around Lost Hills amd Agoura Road, and north of the 101 Freeway in Saratoga Hills and Ranch.
Firefighters Tuesday were battling the 658-acre Getty Fire burning in the West Los Angeles hills near the 405 Freeway. Mandatory evacuations were expected to remain in place through at least Wednesday, but the L.A. Department of Water and Power was not planning any outages, Mayor Eric Garcetti said.
While speaking in downtown L.A. last week, Gov. Gavin Newsom was scathingly critical of California's public utility companies regarding the rolling blackouts. Pacific Gas & Electric has shut of power to hundreds of thousands of customers in Northern California over the past few weeks.
"I must confess, it is infuriating beyond words to live in a state as innovative and extraordinarily entrepreneurial and capable in the state of California, to be living in an environment where we are seeing this kind of disruption and these kinds of blackouts," Newsom said.
To mitigate the effects of the power shutoffs, SoCal Edison announced it will open mobile charging stations and community resource centers:
San Bernardino County - Charging Station
- Jessie Turner Health and Fitness Center, 15556 Summit Ave., Fontana — Opened 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
Kern County - Charging Station
- Stallion Springs Community Center, 27800 Stallion Springs Drive, Tehachapi — Opened 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
Ventura County - Charging Station
- City Hall, 970 E. Ventura St., Santa Paula — Opened 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
Ventura County - Community Resource Centers
- Berylwood, 1955 Bridget Ave., Simi Valley — Opened 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
- Fillmore Senior Center, 533 Santa Clara St., Fillmore — Opened 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
Los Angeles County - Community Resource Center
- The Agua Dulce Women's Club, 33201 Agua Dulce Canyon Road, Agua Dulce — Opened 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m.
For a full list of cities and maps of the affected neighborhoods for the possible SoCal Edison shutoffs, click here.