San Diego Gas & Electric began Public Safety Power Shutoffs Tuesday to reduce wildfire risk for more than 1,200 customers, prompted by Santa Ana winds and low humidity throughout Southern California.
The utility reported up to 64,866 customers could lose power this week in San Diego and Orange counties due to extreme fire weather conditions, with the region experiencing the driest start to the rainy season in 174 years.
An up-to-date list of affected communities and Community Resource Centers can be found at sdge.com/ready. These centers are open to the public and offer Wi-Fi, phone and medical device charging.
The National Weather Service has issued a red flag warning for San Diego County’s mountains and valleys, from Tuesday afternoon through Thursday night.
Caltrans on Tuesday notified the public that public safety power shutoffs “can impact traffic signal operations, with signals initially flashing and potentially going dark after extended outages,” a statement from the agency said.
According to the agency, signals will function normally for three hours after an outage begins, followed by “red flash” mode for an additional three to six hours and finally, if the outage last more than six hours, signals will enter “blackout mode.”
During blackout mode, drivers must treat the intersection as a four- way stop. Stop and proceed only when it is safe.
Outage preparedness tips can be found at sdge.com/outage-center. Safety guidelines for generator use can be found at sdge.com/generator.
SDG&E advised that personal emergency plans should be used to keep family, pets and livestock safe. Officials also urged the public to report downed power lines by calling 911 or SDG&E’s call center at 800-411-7343.
High winds and other weather conditions also have the potential to lead to unplanned outages throughout the region, which are separate from a PSPS.
Customers are encouraged to visit SDG&E’s outage map at sdge.com/outages for unplanned outage details and expected restoration times. Customers should also never approach damaged infrastructure or downed power lines and report them by calling 911 or SGD&E’s call center at 800-411-7343.
Additional information about unplanned power outages can be found here.
City News Service contributed to this article.
