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Power shutoffs due to increased fire risk
Power was cut off to more than 5,000 Southern California Edison customers in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties on Thanksgiving due to Santa Ana winds increasing fire danger in the region.
LOS ANGELES - Power was cut off to more than 16,000 Southern California Edison customers in Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino and Ventura Counties on Friday due to Santa Ana winds increasing fire danger in the region.
The outages include more than 3,400 LA County residents, 1,800 Orange County residents, 2,900 San Bernardino County residents and 3,400 Ventura County residents.
More than 95,000 SoCal Edison customers remain under power shutoff consideration.
The power shutoffs began on Thanksgiving morning and families were asked to consider moving up their holiday dinner time.
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Santa Ana Winds may trigger power shutoffs
This Thanksgiving, families across Southland brace for the potential of power shutoffs due to a Santa Ana wind event.
RELATED: Thanksgiving Forecast: Strong winds, fire conditions expected over holiday
"Turning off our customers' power is not something we take lightly, but Public Safety Power Shutoff events are one of the ways we can better ensure the safety of the public, our customers, and our employees," Edison said on its website.
The shutoff of power is designed to reduce the risk of fires caused byelectrical equipment when strong winds are forecast. Several large fires in California have been linked to electrical equipment.
Red Flag warnings have been issued by the National Weather Service for a large portion of Los Angeles County and the Inland Empire. Wind gusts of up to 65 mph are possible.
As of 11 a.m. Friday, 22,429 customers in Los Angeles County, 5,382 customers in Riverside County and 3,062 customers in Orange County, 48,872 customers in San Bernardino County and 15,901 customers in Ventura County were under consideration for having their power shut off, Edison said.
The utility says it generally sends customers a notice of a power shutoff 48 hours in advance.
"If your power has been shut off, we will restore power as soon as the weather conditions permit, and crews have inspected the power lines to confirm it is safe to restore power," Edison said.
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