SoCal Edison considering shutting off power to thousands of customers
RIALTO, Calif. (KABC) -- With a heat advisory in effect until 8 p.m. Tuesday firefighters warned of an elevated fire risk as a result of the hot, dry weather. SoCal Edison was determining whether to shut off power to some 90,000 customers in the Southland as a precaution.
Power was shut off to 85 customers in unincorporated areas between Beaumont and Banning shortly before 3 p.m. The city of Banning provides residents with electricity from their own utility.
The fear is that downed power lines could cause fast-moving fires.
The outage would impact 9,000 customers in Lancaster and Palmdale, 35,000 customers in Riverside County and 42,000 in San Bernardino County. Others in Santa Barbara could also go dark until field crews decide it is safe to turn back on.
Firefighters want motorcyclists to be cautious while riding near brush, and they also ask smokers to mindful of the situation.
And more than anything, firefighters encourage everyone to be prepared in the event of a brush fire.
"Plan, which amounts to having a 'go bag' with all the necessary equipment and stuff that you need to survive for up to a week away from your house," said L.A. County Fire Capt. Tony Imbrenda. "Medications, critical paper work, ID, cash, that sort of thing."
For the latest outage information from SoCal Edison, visit https://www.sce.com/safety/wildfire/psps.
