California utilities cut power to reduce fire risk
LOS ANGELES — California remained on guard Tuesday, but gusty winds that raised the threat of wildfires were decreasing in strength and becoming less widespread a day after knocking out power to thousands and forcing utilities to proactively cut electricity to prevent sparks.
Warnings for critical fireweather conditions were canceled for all but a stretch of the state's southwestern corner and part of the California-Oregon line, the National Weather Service said.
Meteorologists warned that although warnings were expected to expire Tuesday night, withering conditions would keep fire concerns elevated.
Many areas saw the level of relative humidity fall into single-digit percentages, aggravating conditions in a state that the U.S. Drought Monitor shows is mostly in some stage of drought or at least abnormally dry.
Despite a weekend dousing of tropical moisture left over from former Hurricane Sergio, downtown Los Angeles has recorded less than half the rainfall it normally receives by this time of year.
Utilities, meanwhile reported progress in restoring electrical services to customers.
Pacific Gas & Electric said it expected to restore power Tuesday to the last of about 60,000 northern California customers whose service was shut off Sunday night in a bid to prevent wildfires during blustery conditions. Service was restored to most on Monday.
This was the first time PG&E has pre-emptively cut power; authorities had blamed its power lines for sparking some of California's most destructive blazes.
San Diego Gas & Electric also cut power briefly to a few hundred customers on Monday.
PG&E expects to pay billions of dollars in wildfire damages and has sought ways to limit its liability through the courts and legislature.
Southern California Edison, meanwhile, was working to restore service to 14,300 customers, mostly in Riverside and Los Angeles counties, spokeswoman Susan Cox said. The utility had said it also might cut power to some areas, but it did not do so.