Part Of Chatsworth Loses Power Under Red Flag, Wind Warnings

CHATSWORTH, CA — The far northwest corner of Chatsworth lost power Tuesday night, as SCE once again pre-emptively shut off power in a Public Safety Power Shutoff. Along with most of Los Angeles County and much of California, Northridge and Chatsworth have been placed under both a Red Flag Warning and a Wind Advisory, as 40-mile-an hour winds whip through the city. See a map of affected areas here.

The area just south of the 118 Freeway was without power Tuesday night, as were several nearby cities. Huge swaths of Simi Valley, Moorpark, Santa Clarita, Sylmar, San Fernando, Thousand Oaks, and Camarillo were all without power. Meanwhile, most of Ventura County is under consideration to lose power.

Los Angeles Department of Water and Power reported sporadic outages throughout Northridge, West Hills, and Canoga Park affecting anywhere from one to three people.

The shutoffs are expected to last until Wednesday at 12, or whenever the winds die down.

"We fully realize that PSPS events significantly impact our customer's daily lives and create hardships on our customers and communities – a burden that is even more consequential with so many customers working and learning from home," SCE spokesperson Julia Roether wrote in an email. "Some customers are facing multiple continual high wind days as winds are expected to continue into next week. While extended outages are possible, we will make every effort to temporarily restore power to affected customers (even for a short period of time) as breaks in the weather conditions permit and it is safe to reenergize."

SCE said that it notified all affected customers on their cell phones 48 hours in advance. The city released a statement with tips for staying safe during a shutoff, including keeping battery-operated flashlights and cash on-hand, filling up car with gas, beforehand, keeping refrigerators closed and buying ice to keep them cool, throwing away food exposed to temperatures above 40 degrees Fahrenheit for more than two hours, and discarding any medication that must be refrigerated. For a full list of tips, see a release from the city of Malibu, and tips from SCE.

The Red Flag Warning, the second in a week, is in effect until 10 p.m. Tuesday, while the Wind Warning will last until 4 a.m. Wednesday.

As of Tuesday afternoon, 40-mph northeasterly winds are whipping through the city. Gusts are expected to be as high as 55 miles an hour Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service, and they won't let up much Wednesday: NWS forecasts predict gusts as high as 40 mph throughout Wednesday, while slowing down to 15 mph Thursday.

Valleys in Ventura County have reported gusts of 50 to 70 mph, while the San Gabriel Mountains have seen gusts of of over 80 mph, according to NWS meteorologist Curt Kaplan.

Strong gusty Santa Ana Winds continue in Ventura County at 9 AM. Strongest gusts 50-70 mph across Ventura County valleys, mountains, and over 80 mph in the San Gabriel Mountains. #cawx #LAweather #Socal pic.twitter.com/8JzkJiKw6i
— Curt Kaplan (@Curtkap) January 19, 2021

Max winds so far today. Winds are expected to strengthen and expand through the day. High Wind Warnings in effect over much of the area. Wind damage to trees and temporary structures likely, power outages possible. Dangerous driving and boating conditions expected. #CAWX pic.twitter.com/F1mcBaVEIq
— NWS Los Angeles (@NWSLosAngeles) January 19, 2021

The NWS predicted higher elevations may see winds as high as 90 mph, while downtown Los Angeles could see winds of up to 6o mph. The highest gust reported so far was 95 mph in the hills above Ventura, according to a report in The Washington Post.

The NWS has placed much of the state, from Lake Tahoe to San Francisco down the coast to San Diego, in a Red Flag Warning due to a combination of unseasonably warm temperatures and record-setting winds. Any fire that ignites between Tuesday and Wednesday could spread rapidly and exhibit "extreme fire behavior," the NWS in Los Angeles warned.

Numerous fires have already broken out across California. On Sunday, a house fire in Malibu turned into a brush fire that killed one and seriously injured another. On Tuesday, a fire broke out in the Santa Clarita area that burned about 50 acres of brush, while another fire in San Dimas burned about 50 acres.

Thousands of Californians have either lost power, had their power shut off, or are under warning to lose power. 270,000 people across the state are without power, according to Poweroutage.us.

SCE has reported numerous unplanned outages throughout the entirety of Ventura County and along the coast, while thousands more across Ventura County have had their power shut off pre-emptively. SCE says that 270,000 customers across the L.A. metro area may have their power shut off in the next few days.