Jan Wesner Childs
In this file photo, a Valero gas station sits vacant after power was shut down as part of a statewide blackout in Santa Rosa, California, last year. Utility providers in Southern California say more than 300,000 homes and businesses could be without electricity in the coming days due to dangerous fire weather.Electricity could be cut to more than 300,000 homes and businesses in Southern California as dangerous fire weather moves in Wednesday night.
Utility provider Southern California Edison is warning about 270,000 customers across eight counties that their power could be shut off between Thursday and Saturday. The public safety power shutoffs, designed to prevent power lines and other infrastructure from sparking wildfires, could affect more than 77,000 customers in Ventura County, 67,000 in Riverside County and 59,000 in San Bernardino County, the company said in a news release.
Other counties under consideration for outages include Los Angeles, Kern, Orange, San Diego and Tulare. In all, about 5% of SoCal Edison's customers could see their power shut off.
Another company, San Diego Gas & Electric, said more than 88,000 of its customers could lose power. Those outages could start as early as Wednesday night and last through Sunday or Monday, according to a news release.
(MORE: Santa Ana Winds Stoke California Fire Danger)
The danger is being driven by what is expected to be a prolonged Santa Ana wind event, combined with extremely dry conditions.
“Because there hasn’t been any substantial rain, the vegetation is tinder dry," weather.com meteorologist Chris Dolce said Wednesday morning.
The National Weather Service in Los Angeles is warning of a long duration of very critical fire danger Wednesday night through Saturday, and notes that any fires that start could grow rapidly. Red flag and high wind warnings are in effect for much of the region.
Winds could gust as high as 55 mph in valley and coastal areas and up to 70 mph in mountain regions, according to the NWS. Drivers of high profile vehicles are advised to use caution.
Last week, SoCal Edison cut off power to some residents in the same areas due to a fire threat over the Thanksgiving holiday.
“We understand that having your power turned off is a hardship, especially in the middle of a pandemic and when most folks are at home. We are working to limit the number of customers who are shut off due to Public Safety Power Shutoffs,” said Vik Trehan, SCE director and incident commander.
“We know this is especially difficult for customers who lost power due to PSPS over the Thanksgiving holiday and who live in areas with high winds and increased wildfire threats. These PSPS are initiated to reduce the risk of wildfires and to protect communities from wildfire danger.”
California has endured a historic series of fires this year, with nearly 9,300 wildfires that burned more than 4.1 million acres and damaged or destroyed 10,488 homes and other buildings, according to Cal Fire. Thirty-one people have been killed.
The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.
The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.
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