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    • Cancellations possible due to Santa Ana gusts
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    Cancellations possible due to Santa Ana gusts

    Vaseline Posted on

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    With gusts from Santa Ana in the forecast, Southern California Edison has announced that it could turn off power to local areas as early as Friday morning in the event of hazardous conditions.

    The utility said it will monitor circuits across the region during dry and windy weather. Lines in those areas can be de-energized to prevent electrical equipment from causing fires – faults called Public Safety Power Shutoffs, or PSPS.

    Early Thursday, the controlled areas had 132,000 customers. Of those, nearly 23,000 were in Ventura County. The local tracks include those in and around Fillmore, Santa Paula, Moorpark, Simi Valley, Newbury Park and Ventura.

    While these areas will be monitored, Edison says circuit closures will only happen after weather specialists identify hazardous conditions.

    The forecast called for Santa Anas in Ventura and Los Angeles counties on Friday and Saturday. Gusty winds and low humidity can make wildfires start more easily and spread more quickly. The National Weather Service has issued a fire warning for most local areas through Saturday evening.

    “There’s a little bit of uncertainty about exactly how strong these winds will be,” said Kristan Lund, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard.

    What is a public safety power shutoff?

    The shutoffs are designed to de-energize circuits to prevent debris and trees from blowing into power lines.

    Dozens of fires in California have been blamed on electrical equipment, including the massive Thomas Fire that started near Santa Paula in 2017 and the Woolsey Fire that ignited near Simi Valley the following year.

    Authorities are urging residents to prepare for possible disruptions in advance. People who need electricity for a medical device can call 211 for help before an outage. The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office of Emergency Services will update its website with the areas being monitored and any outages.

    How can you tell if an outage could affect your home?

    Local areas are expected to be monitored until midday on Saturday. If an outage occurs, the power will likely stop working once the wind dies down. According to Edison, lines may become damaged or branches may be lying on them.

    Crews would need to patrol an area before power is restored and any problems can be resolved, officials said.

    More information about possible power outages is available at sce.com/psps. For a map of monitored areas or outages, visit sce.com/outage-center/check-outage-status.

    Local information about any outages is available at vcemergency.com. To sign up for emergency alerts, visit readyventuracounty.org/vc-alert/.

    Cheri Carlson covers environmental and county government for the Ventura County Star. Reach her at [email protected] or 805-437-0260.

    Vaseline
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