Southern California Edison issued a warning about potential public safety power shutoffs that could go into effect Thursday morning through Friday night due to increased concerns of wildfire risks in the area.
Roughly 259,194 customers would be affected, many of them in the Santa Clarita Valley, according to an official with SoCal Edison.
“We have a responsibility to keep customers and communities safe from the threat of wildfires. (Public Safety Power Shutoff) significantly reduces the risk that our equipment can start an ignition during extreme weather conditions,” Diane Castro, senior advisor of media relations at SoCal Edison, wrote in an email Wednesday. “Strong winds combined with dry ground conditions are expected in portions of Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, Ventura, Kern and Tulare counties. These areas remain dry, and combined with the high winds and warm temperatures, will support increase the risk of wildfire activity.”
Alerts were sent Wednesday to customers who may be impacted by the shutoffs. If customers do get a notification that a shutoff is pending, they are advised to be prepared for the power to be shut off within one to four hours. To be prepared, keep items fully charged. Castro advises that people should know how to open their garage manually in case they need to leave.
For more information on how to be prepared for the shutoff, go to tinyurl.com/vscjh9w7.
For more information about the outage, you can visit the SCE outage map at tinyurl.com/y82v48ss. Additional information on PSPS in general is available at tinyurl.com/yeaa9stj.
