SoCal braces for Santa Ana winds, power outages
LOS ANGELES - An estimated 38,000 Southern California Edison customers in high-risk fire areas face possible power shutoffs amid the first Santa Ana wind event of the season.
The National Weather Service issued a Wind Advisory from 10 p.m. Sunday to Monday afternoon for communities in the San Bernardino, Riverside and Santa Ana mountains. The advisory also applies to the San Gorgonio Pass and throughout the Inland Empire, as well as wind-prone areas in Los Angeles and Ventura counties.
Chances of the conditions leading to red flag warnings were just 20% to 30%, forecasters said.
SoCal Edison said they alerted customers there was a chance of power shutoffs beginning 9 p.m. Sunday through Monday afternoon. The planned outages are intended to prevent the electrical power system from being a fire ignition source during winds.
Officials said the winds combined with low humidity elevate fire conditions.
As a precaution, SoCal Edison will deploy crews to various cities during the wind event.
Click here for the SCE power outage map.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.