Power Out For Some Pass Area Customers Amid High Winds

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — Gusty Santa Ana winds prompted public safety power shutdowns Tuesday morning in parts of Beaumont, San Jacinto, and the Hemet area.

The Southern California Edison planned outages will last for an unknown duration amid the blowing winds.

According to the agency, 14,782 SCE ratepayers in Riverside County were without power Tuesday. More than 8,500 SCE customers countywide are also under a public safety power shutdown watch.

A map of the utility's PSPS activity is available at www.sce.com/wildfire/psps.

A red flag warning is in effect through 10 p.m. Tuesday for the Inland Empire, and a high wind watch is in effect in the Riverside metropolitan area through late Tuesday night.

Affected areas could have winds of 25 to 35 mph, with gusts up to 60 mph in the mountains, 55 mph in the valleys and 40 mph in the Coachella Valley. Humidity levels will hover between 15 percent and 20 percent, forecasters said.

"When there are potentially dangerous weather conditions in fire-prone areas, we may need to call a PSPS event," SCE said. "During these events, we will proactively turn off power in high fire risk areas to reduce the threat of wildfires. Turning off our customers’ power is not something we take lightly, but PSPS events are one of the ways we can better ensure the safety of the public, our customers, and our employees."

The NWS warned that the strong winds could make travel difficult for high profile vehicles and blow down trees and power lines, potentially causing widespread power outages.