Power Outages Possible In Palos Verdes: Red Flag Fire Warning

PALOS VERDES, CA — On the heels of a picture-perfect SoCal morning, Santa Ana winds return to the Southland Wednesday afternoon, prompting a warning for extreme fire danger in the overnight hours.

The National Weather Service issued a red-flag warning for most valleys and mountains of Los Angeles County and inland Orange County from 6 p.m. Wednesday to 6 p.m. Friday and 10 p.m. Saturday the Santa Clarita Valley and Santa Monica Mountains.

Low humidity combined with strong winds promise to increase wildfire risk, despite the moderate temperature in the 60s and 70s, the agency said. In response, local utilities warn residents of power outages as a preemptive solution to halt fires before they begin.

In Los Angeles, over 34,000 residents could face outages, and in nearby Orange County, an additional 16,500 homes may lose power overnight.

Residents can get more information about the shutoffs and determine if they are in an area under shutoff consideration by visiting www.sce.com/psps.

A wind advisory is in effect until noon Wednesday in central Los Angeles and until midnight in the valleys. Gusts of 45 mph are likely in the San Fernando and Santa Clarita valleys and up to 50 mph in the mountains.

"Gusty north to northeast winds for the next several nights and mornings will turn primarily northeasterly for the latter half of the week. Damaging Santa Ana winds are possible across the mountains between Thursday and Friday," the NWS said on Tuesday.

The wind event will again raise the possibility of power outages. Southern California Edison warned Tuesday that some customers could be subject to Public Safety Power Shutoffs. Electricity is cut in particularly wind-affected areas to prevent equipment damage that could spark fires.

SCE Director and incident Commander Vik Trehan said in a statement that the utility understands "that having your power turned off is a hardship, especially in the middle of a pandemic and when most folks are at home."

He promised the utility would limit the number of customers affected by Public Safety Power Shutoffs.

"We know this is especially difficult for customers who lost power due to PSPS over the Thanksgiving holiday and who live in areas with high winds and increased wildfire threats," Trehan wrote. "These PSPS are put in place to reduce the risk of wildfires and to protect communities from wildfire danger."

As of Wednesday morning, the utility listed 34,088 customers in Los Angeles as being under consideration for possible shutoffs, along with 16,425 in Orange County.

Is your home at risk of a power shutoff? Find out if you will be affected by outages at www.sce.com/psps.