Where Edison shut off power due to wind in Southern California, there was a risk of fire

An extreme wind event has caused Edison in Southern California to shut off power to thousands of customers across the region. The map below shows which areas are currently without power and which areas are under a warning of further outages.

Two fires ignited Wednesday in a wind event in Santa Ana that produced wind gusts of 70 to 80 miles per hour in Ventura and Los Angeles counties.

While winds continued to be a problem Thursday, nearly 70,000 utility customers across the region experienced power outages “due to the increased risk of wildfires,” according to Southern California Edison. About a third of the shutdowns were initiated in Ventura County, but power outages also occurred in Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside and Orange counties. SCE reported that more than 200,000 additional people in the region are under consideration for additional safety shutdowns to minimize additional fires caused by sparks from electrical equipment through at least Thursday.

The utility slowly got the lines back online Thursday afternoon and planned to have most lines back to full capacity by Friday. Before power can be restored to an area, crews must inspect each distribution line for damage or foreign objects.

The map on Edison's website is updated in near real time, but a spokesman said significant events could cause delays. The utility also asked customers to enter their address to receive more information about their outage, such as how long the increased fire risk will last.

Public safety power shutoffs are aimed at containing threats, often in areas where the equipment is at risk of starting a wildfire. Edison reported that thousands more shutdowns are being considered through at least Thursday.

The utility's meteorology teams are using their own weather models and government data to weigh potential shutdowns. They monitor not only wind speeds and gusts, but also the presence of wind-blown debris and the dryness of vegetation using hundreds of weather stations and sensors.

“We always try to shut off power as locally as possible,” said a spokesman for Southern California Edison. “We know this is not just an inconvenience. We know that these outages represent real hardships and that turning off power is truly a last resort.”

While Edison tries to give customers three days' notice of a closure, that's not always possible, the spokesman said.

“This is a phenomenon of the increasing impact of climate change on the weather. “We have more weather extremes that can change more quickly than we might be used to,” he said.