California Windstorm Threatens to Bring Thanksgiving Power Cuts
VENTURA, CA - MAY 13: A Southern California Edison crew installs a new overhead switch for circuit reliability on May 13, 2020 in Ventura, California. During the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic Edison is focused only on essential work to maintain the grid. According to Skylar Graybill, interim district manager for Ventura, with so many more people at home, they are focused on public safety and circuit reliability. Graybill says, "With our crews, we practice a daily wellness screening and we keep our crews in the same pods...that helps to minimize contact...This is the principal the fire departments are using and it's the same for us... We also have some sequestered crews of vital workers. They are living in RVs in a central zone and are more isolated from contact." (Photo by Brent Stirton/Getty Images)
, Photographer: Brent Stirton/Getty Images
David R. Baker, Bloomberg News
(Bloomberg) -- More than 24,400 southern California homes and businesses could spend Thanksgiving in the dark as Edison International’s local utility may shut off power to prevent fires during a wind storm.
Santa Ana winds gusting over 40 miles (64 kilometers) per hour are forecast to strike portions of Los Angeles and Ventura counties Thursday, according to the National Weather Service. Southern California Edison warned that some customers in those counties could lose power starting early Thursday morning.
California utilities have taken to turning off power lines during high winds after years of deadly wildfires sparked by their equipment. Such “public safety power shutoffs,” however, have been rare this year as several summer and fall rain storms cut the risk of fires.
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