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With strong winds possible, Southern California Edison warns 90,000 customers they could lose power

by in News

Utility workers were keeping a close eye on potential danger spots along thousands of miles of Southern California Edison electric lines in preparation for potentially powerful winds Tuesday evening and into Wednesday morning.

In Riverside County, officials announced the utility shut off power for some unincorporated areas between Beaumont and Banning, affecting 85 customers, said Mary Ann Milbourn, an SCE spokeswoman. With no estimated time when power would return, Milbourn said weather conditions were expected to improve overnight.

Riverside County’s Emergency Management Department said on social media it was notified of Tuesday’s shutdown at 2:46 p.m.

 

The utility company more than doubled the number of warnings issued since Monday — to about 90,000 customers total who live in mostly foothill areas who could see their power cut off if hot and windy conditions get bad enough.

That’s the largest number of the company’s customers ever to get a warning in advance like this, Milbourn said.

She said nearly one-quarter of the utility’s service area is showing conditions ripe for large and dangerous wildfires — low humidity levels, dry vegetation and high temperatures.

Winds strong enough to damage power lines or send trees tumbling down on them could spell disaster.

“It’s not just that we’re seeing a big breeze — these are winds that our threatening our equipment,” Milbourn said.

In Los Angeles County, about 9,000 people living in Acton, Agua Dulce, Altadena and other communities were given shutoff warnings.

In Riverside County, warnings were issued to about 35,000 people. Communities there included Banning, Calimesa, Hemet, Moreno Valley, Perris and San Jacinto.

The most customers with warnings were in San Bernardino County — about 42,000 people in Apple Valley, Big Bear, Fontana, Highland, Rancho Cucamonga, Redlands, the city of San Bernardino, Rialto and Yucca Valley.

SCE issued the warnings to communities where winds would be strongest Tuesday. The National Weather Service said winds could reach 20 to 30 miles per hour along the coasts and in valleys, but could be as strong as 30 to 40 miles per hour in the mountains.

Milbourn said the utility has always had the ability to turn off their customers’ power, but the use of it has increased in recent years as pressure from state regulators has grown amid wildfires that are more intense and frequent.

SCE has its own meteorologists and fire scientists tracking local conditions immediately surrounding their equipment. The utility’s workers observing equipment in these areas will be the ones to make the call if things get dangerous enough.

The utility is estimating the shutdowns could last anywhere between 24 and 30 hours as workers go out to inspect equipment, but the timing when power could return is uncertain.

Some of the power lines are in remote areas that are difficult to reach. Crews can’t operate in these areas at night. And workers will have to “wait until the weather calms down” before they risk turning the electricity back on, Milbourn said.

If Edison ultimately does shut down power to any neighborhoods, the company will send alerts through emails, texts and phone calls.

Milbourn said customers must opt-in to get the alerts — privacy rules prevent Edison from sending out the alerts automatically to customers who have already provided their contact information. Many other customers have not submitted email addresses or cell phone numbers to the company.

It’s not clear how many of Edison’s five million customers have signed up for the alerts from the utility. Milbourn said that effort is a “work in progress.”

The company will also communicate with emergency services, local cities and county governments if any of their communities are going to be affected by shutdowns. Edison customers who want to sign up for alerts from the utility can call 1-800-655-4555 or go to www.sce.com/mysce.

Staff writer Jonah Valdez contributed to this story.