Power Cut to 70,000 Customers in Southern California Due to Wildfire Risk
Southern California Edison the main electric provider in the region intentionally cut power to nearly 70,000 customers overnight as a precaution due to the growing Mountain Fire in Ventura County. This action is part of the company’s Public Safety Power Shutoff plan, aimed at reducing the risk of fires sparked by energized power lines.
A total of 69,931 customers including 23,603 in Ventura County were affected by the power shutoff. SoCal Edison may consider further outages impacting up to 180,000 more customers if the wildfire spreads.
The Mountain Fire located northwest of Los Angeles has burned over 14,000 acres since it began on Wednesday with zero containment as of Thursday morning. More than 14,000 residents are under evacuation orders schools are closed and at least two people have been hospitalized with possible smoke inhalation.
Fire officials are working to contain the blaze as it spreads at a “dangerous rate,” according to Ventura County Fire Chief Dustin Gardner.
