SCE warns of potential power shutoffs to prevent wildfires
SCE warns of potential power shutoffs to prevent wildfires
With the hottest months of the year on the horizon, Southern California Edison is warning customers that it expects to increase the number of power shutoffs this summer to reduce the risk of wildfires.
The announcement comes after the utility pledged to rebuild infrastructure damaged in the devastating Eaton and Palisades fires that erupted in January, when high winds drove flames and forced SCE to implement public safety power shutoffs that lasted for days in communities across Southern California.
Changing climate patterns and below average rainfall, when combined with extended periods of high winds, increase the risk of fire, and SCE officials say they’re obligated to do what they can to mitigate those threats. Public safety power shutoffs are one way the utility can reduce the risk of fires from utility equipment.
“We know that any outage is a hardship, including public safety power shutoffs which we use because they are necessary for safety,” SCE spokesperson Jeff Monford said Thursday, July 3.
The utility issued its advisory days before multiple wildfires broke out across Southern California, underscoring concerns about dry vegetation as the region settles into summer.
Power lines have been linked to some of California’s most devastating wildfires.
In May, SCE agreed to pay a record $82.5 million to settle lawsuits related to the Bobcat Fire, which burned about 114,577 acres, mostly in the Angeles National Forest, in 2020.
In January, even as neighborhoods devastated by the Palisades and Eaton fires were still smoldering, SCE was hit by multiple lawsuits. “Despite knowing of an extreme fire risk, defendants deliberately prioritized profits over safety. This recklessness and conscious disregard for human safety was a substantial factor in bringing about the Eaton Fire,” one lawsuit read in part. More than 130 lawsuits had been filed by April.
SCE has acknowledged that its equipment and power lines may have triggered the Eaton fire that destroyed more than 9,000 structures. An official cause is still under investigation.
The company has attempted to get around the danger of active powerlines sparking wildfires by moving them underground, but it’s an expensive and time-consuming process. In April, the company unveiled a plan to rebuild the utility’s infrastructure in fire-ravaged Altadena and Malibu — areas hit by the Eaton and Palisades fires, respectively. The company estimated it would cost between $860 million and $925 million to underground 153 circuit miles, along with adding other improvements to increase the system’s reliability, especially during a crisis. No time table has been announced for the plan, as the company works to secure funding.
But potentially cutting off power to reduce wildfire risk is not without its downsides.
Extreme heat is the deadliest form of weather in the U.S., killing more than 2,300 people in 2023, although experts believe that number to be a severe undercount. High temperatures can trigger heat strokes and heart attacks. They can also exacerbate asthma, diabetes, kidney failure and other illnesses, including some infectious diseases.
According to environmental scientists, the Inland Empire region, for example, once the citrus belt of the nation, will have a climate similar to Phoenix’s by the middle of the century.
Temperatures over the Fourth of July weekend were expected to be below normal, but by midweek could reach triple digits in the Inland areas, according to the National Weather Service.
Even when the weather isn’t dangerously hot, there are consequences to turning off the power, sometimes for days at a time.
Though her Redlands neighborhood was spared the devastation the Eaton and Palisades fires wrought more than 60 miles from her home, Amanda Frye said SCE turned off her power for four days in January.
“Most people lost a lot of food. I mean, four days without power, what do you do?,” she said. “People lost hundreds of dollars worth of groceries. There was no reimbursement.”
Neighbors who didn’t have surge protectors had appliances destroyed when the power came back on, according to Frye. She was also frustrated SCE had shut off her power previously for 11 days to do maintenance on the lines and installed a weather station at that time.
“A lot of time, there wouldn’t even be wind!” Frye said. “Every time the wind blows, you’re going to shut off the power, because you didn’t bury the lines?”
In January, as the Eaton and Palisades fires blazed with high winds, communities in Villa Park in Orange County had sporadic access to power for three weeks.
Frustration led to a public forum with SCE in the spring, during which the utility said it made upgrades to part of Villa Park’s troublesome grid infrastructure.
“Although we can all understand why Southern California Edison feels the need to do these public safety power shutoffs, I think it’s, unfortunately, a mixed bag,” said Councilmember Crystal Miles.
The shutoffs hurt older residents in her district who rely on consistent electricity for medical devices, mobility and home security, she said.
“Providing power comes with inherent risks that need to be part of their operating budget, not mitigated onto my constituents,” Miles said.
According to Monford, SCE has installed covered conductors in high-fire risk areas, as well as adding switches, weather stations and cameras to monitor conditions. In March, Cal Fire released updated maps showing a significant increase in the estimated wildfire risk for much of Southern California, based on climate, vegetation, terrain and fire history.
The utility watches for specific conditions to assess whether a power shutoff is necessary, including considerably strong wind, dry vegetation on the ground and overall humidity.
SCE said it intends to notify affected customers about two days before potential power shutoffs, either by email, text or phone call. The company also updates its website and social media with power shutoff information.
In the meantime, Monford advised SCE customers to create an emergency plan and pack an emergency kit.
More information on SCE’s power outages and safety recommendations can be found at sce.com/outages-safety.
Safety tips from the Environmental Health and Safety office at UC Irvine:
For information about cooling centers operated by Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties, see LAcounty.gov/heat/, OCgov.com/cooling-centers, CAPRiverside.org/cool-centers and DPH.SBCounty.gov/extreme-heat-information-and-resources.
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