Where Southern California Edison has shut off power due to extreme wind and fire risk

An extreme wind event has caused Southern California Edison 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 warnings of further outages.

Two fires ignited amid a Santa Ana wind event that generated gusts of 70 to 80 mph in Ventura and Los Angeles counties on Wednesday.

Tens of thousands of utility customers across the region lost power Wednesday afternoon “due to increased wildfire risk.” according to the supply. Roadblocks that had affected Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside, Ventura, Orange and Santa Barbara counties early Wednesday were extended to parts of Kern and Tulare counties.

Edison’s public safety power outages is aimed at mitigating threats, often in areas where its equipment may be at high risk of starting a wildfire. Thousands more closures were being considered through at least Thursday, Edison reported.

The utility’s meteorological team uses its own weather models and government data to weigh possible outages. They monitor not only wind speeds and gusts, but the presence of windblown debris and dryness in the vegetation using hundreds of weather stations and sensors.

“We always try to turn off power in the most localized way possible,” said a spokesperson for Southern California Edison. “We know it’s not just an inconvenience. We know these outages are real hardships, and turning off the power is really a last resort.”

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

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