Socal Edison considering cutting power to 308,000 customers

LOS ANGELES – Large swaths of California will once again be without power amid heightened concerns that hot weather and strong winds could lead to wildfires.

Southern California Edison said more than 308,000 customers in seven counties – Ventura, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside, Orange, Kern and Santa Barbara – could face blackouts. It is not clear when power to those areas might be shut off.

Pacific Gas & Electric Co. announced Wednesday that it began shutting off power to customers in the Sierra Nevada foothills about 2 p.m.

So far, 179,000 customers had their power cut.

The utility made the decision to cut power based on forecasts of hot, dry weather and so-called Diablo winds that pose a higher risk for damage and sparks on the company’s electric system that officials fear could ignite a wildfire.

Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric have expressed similar concern over Santa Ana winds that are expected to hit the southern portion of the state by late Wednesday. Both utilities have also said they are considering shutting off power to customers.

“The general consensus is that this will be a high risk weather event unfolding,” said Scott Strenfel, a meteorologist for PG&E.

The PG&E shut-off is expected to affect customers in 17 counties: Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, El Dorado, Kern, Lake, Mendocino, Napa, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, San Mateo, Sierra, Sonoma, Tehama and Yuba.

Forecasters say peak winds up to 60 mph in some areas should subside by noon Thursday in the Sierra foothills, the North Bay and San Mateo County and by around noon Friday in Kern County.

Once the winds calm, the utility said it would inspect the deenergized lines to ensure they weren’t damaged before turning power back on. However, many customers could be without power for two days or more after the winds subside, according to the utility.

San Diego Gas & Electric has identified about 24,000 customers in several communities that may be subject to a power shutoff because of high winds.

In all, the three utility companies’ outages could affect more than a million Californians.

The utility companies’ power shut-offs have generated backlash from customers, with some residents saying they create a whole new set of dangers as they try to watch for news about fires. Critics worry that communications and evacuations will be hampered if the power is out, especially if traffic signals don’t work and cellphone service is affected.

Gov. Gavin Newsom has also stepped up his criticism of PG&E, which was roundly excoriated earlier this month over chaotic power shutdowns that affected millions across Northern California.

“I believe the unacceptable scope and duration of the previous outage ... was the direct result of decades of PG&E prioritizing profit over public safety,” Newsom wrote in a letter to PG&E on Tuesday.

PG&E President and Chief Executive William D. Johnson addressed the letter during a news conference Tuesday evening, saying the company “shares the governor’s focus on public safety and preventing catastrophic wildfires.”

“And that’s the sole intent of the public safety power shutoff program – to prevent catastrophic fires which electrical equipment can spark,” Johnson said.

California is in the midst of a fall heat wave brought on by a mixture of high pressure and offshore winds that have raised temperatures at least 10 degrees warmer than usual across much of the state, forecasters say.

Forecasts of strong winds, temperatures surpassing the 90- and 100-degree mark and low humidity prompted the National Weather Service to issue red flag warnings beginning Wednesday in a large swath of Northern California as well as Los Angeles and Ventura counties. Those conditions create a prime environment for explosive wildfires, experts say.

Equipment malfunctions have been tied to some of the state’s most destructive and deadliest fires, including last year’s Camp fire – which devastated the town of Paradise in Northern California and killed 85 people – and the 2017 wine country blazes.

Investigators determined last year that Edison power lines ignited the 2017 Thomas fire, a massive blaze in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties that killed two people. Officials are still trying to determine whether power lines sparked last November’s Woolsey fire, which ripped through Ventura County and Malibu.

Southern California Edison has also faced scrutiny over possible links between the company’s electrical system and the start of the Saddleridge fire, which scorched nearly 8,800 acres in the hills of the northern San Fernando Valley this month and destroyed homes.