More than half a million people woke up without power Thursday as California faces hot weather, strong winds and fast-moving wildfires that have erupted across the state.
Southern California Edison has shut off power to more than 24,000 customers in five counties — Kern, Riverside, Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Ventura — as the state braces for a day of strong winds. The utility is monitoring 286,000 more customers in those areas and Orange County for possible shut-offs as the day progresses.
About 179,000 Pacific Gas & Electric Co. customers in 17 counties across the state have also lost power. The state’s largest utility began cutting electric service on Wednesday afternoon to customers in the Sierra Nevada foothills and counties in the north San Francisco Bay Area. Shortly after 1 a.m. Thursday, portions of San Mateo and Kern counties were also in the dark.
San Diego Gas & Electric Co. has also cut power to more than 3,900 customers as of early Thursday and more than 37,000 are under shut-off consideration because of high winds.
The number of residents estimated to be affected by the shutoffs — more than 605,000 — is calculated using the average number of people per household based on U.S. Census data.
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A charred utility pole lies amid burned machinery along Chalk Hill Road near Healdsburg on Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2019. (Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times)
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A house burns along Highway 128 near Healdsburg on Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2019. (Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times)
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Charred hillsides show the path of the Kincade fire next to vineyards near Healdsburg. (Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times)
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Vehicles burned by the Kincade fire along Chalk Hill Road near Healdsburg. (Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times)
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A Cal Fire vehicle drives past a smoldering eucalyptus tree along Chalk Hill Road near Healdsburg on Sunday, Oct. 27, 2019. (Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times)
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The Soda Rock winery along Highway 128 near Healdsburg is consumed by the Kincade fire early Sunday morning. (Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times)
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The Soda Rock winery along Highway 128 near Healdsburg is consumed by the Kincade fire early Sunday morning. (Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times)
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A pair of men open a gate to allow firefighters access to a ranch along Highway 128 near Healdsburg as the Kincade fire flares up early Sunday morning. (Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times)
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Near Healdsburg, Calif., a firefighter along Highway 128 observes the Soda Rock winery being consumed by the Kincade fire early Sunday morning. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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Smoke from the Kincade fire partially obscures the sun as it rises above Chalk Hill Road near Healdsburg on Sunday morning. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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The Soda Rock winery along State Highway 128 near Healdsburg, Calif., is consumed by the Kincade fire early Sunday morning. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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A firefighter mops up hot spots from the Kincade fire after it jumped Chalk Hill Road near Healdsburg, Calif., on Sunday morning. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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A police cruiser patrols downtown Healdsburg, where power was cut ahead of expected high winds early Sunday morning. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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Shopkeepers Sodhi Singh, left, and Navneet Singh prepare to close down their gas station and convenience store after the lights went out in Healdsburg at about 8 p.m. Saturday night. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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Downtown Healdsburg is deserted after a mandatory evacuation of the town was ordered on Saturday ahead of an expected high wind event in the area. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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Traffic jams Dry Creek Road in Healdsburg after authorities ordered the evacuation of the city on Saturday. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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A Boeing 747 supertanker drops a large load of fire retardant on a ridgeline above Healdsburg on Saturday. (Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times)
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Firefighters set a back fire in the hills above Healdsburg on Saturday. (Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times)
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Rosalia Schmidt (left) and Pamela Hardine look at a neighbor’s burned home from the Tick fire in Santa Clarita. (Michael Owen Baker/For The Times)
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Rosalia Schmidt thanks Los Angeles County Fire Department hand crew members in Canyon Country. (Michael Owen Baker/For The Times)
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A Los Angeles County Fire Department hand crew lines up to do mop up work at the Tick fire in Canyon Country. (Michael Owen Baker/For The Times)
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Pamela Hardine sweeps ash from her home next to neighbors’ homes that burned from the Tick fire in Canyon Country. (Michael Owen Baker/For The Times)
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Homes on Arches Lane in Canyon Country are pink from fire retardant. (Michael Owen Baker/For The Times)
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Cal Fire personnel look over burnt hills in Canyon Country due to the Tick Fire. (Michael Owen Baker/For The Times)
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Marrin unpacks clothes from his car in Canyon Country as residents returned to their homes. Marrin said he packed his car but didn’t evacuated and helped put out fires. (Michael Owen Baker/For The Times)
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Los Angeles County Fire Department Superintendent Brian Riley walks through a burnt hill due to the Tick fire in Canyon Country. (Michael Owen Baker/For The Times)
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Firefighters battle a mulch fire at a nursery along Sierra Highway in Santa Clarita. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
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Ventura County firefighter Zach Ary douses a smoldering residence in Santa Clarita. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
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A huge plume of smoke rises from the Kincade fire in the hills around Geyserville. (Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times)
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Firefighters spray water on a home destroyed by the Tick fire in the 29000 block of Sequoia Road in Santa Clarita. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
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A fire crew makes its way down the closed 14 Freeway in Santa Clarita. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
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A house is covered in pink fire retardant on Arches Lane in Santa Clarita. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
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Firefighters work the hills near Santa Clarita, laying containment lines. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
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The closed 14 Freeway in Santa Clarita. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
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Firefighters douse hot spots at two charred homes along Red Wine Road in Geyserville on Friday morning. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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A charred vehicle sits along Red Wine Road in Geyserville on Friday morning with lights from firefighting vehicles visible in the background. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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A structure continues to burn after the Kincade fire moved through the Geyserville area. (Justin Sullivan / Getty Images)
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In a long-exposure image, firefighters climb a burned hillside to put out hot spots with a hose line behind homes off Nearview Drive Thursday night. (Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times)
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In a long-exposure image, firefighters work behind homes off Nearview Drive. (Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times)
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Firefighters with the Los Padres Strike Team monitor flames burning on a hillside off Sierra Highway in Agua Dulce. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
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Firefighters battle a brush fire that broke out Thursday afternoon in the Sepulveda Basin. (Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times)
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Santa Monica city firefighters hose down embers from the Tick fire near Agua Dulce. (Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times)
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David Leventhal monitors flames burning on a hillside near his home in Agua Dulce. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
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A plane drops fire retardant on hillside flames in Agua Dulce. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
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Firefighters battle a brush fire that broke out Thursday afternoon in the Sepulveda Basin. (Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times)
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Helicopters fly into the Sepulveda Basin to fill up with water to battle a brush fire Thursday. (Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times)
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Firefighters battle a brush fire that broke out Thursday afternoon in the Sepulveda Basin. (Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times)
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Firefighters battle a brush fire that broke out Thursday afternoon in the Sepulveda Basin. (Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times)
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Firefighters battle a brush fire that broke out Thursday afternoon in the Sepulveda Basin. (Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times)
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Firefighters battle a brush fire that broke out Thursday afternoon in the Sepulveda Basin. (Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times)
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Firefighters battle a brush fire that broke out Thursday afternoon in the Sepulveda Basin. (Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times)
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People leave the Sepulveda Basin as firefighters battle a brush fire that broke out Thursday afternoon. (Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times)
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Firefighters battle a brush fire that broke out Thursday afternoon in the Sepulveda Basin. (Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times)
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A building is engulfed in flames at a vineyard during the Kincade fire near Geyserville. (Josh Edelson / AFP/Getty Images)
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Charred grapevines are seen after the Kincade fire moved through the Geyserville area. (Justin Sullivan / Getty Images)
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A home burns near a vineyard after the Kincade fire burned through the area in Geyserville. (Justin Sullivan / Getty Images)
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A burned car sits next to a swing after the Kincade fire moved through the area in Geyserville. (Justin Sullivan / Getty Images )
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Firefighters confer while battling the Kincade fire near Geyserville. Portions of Northern California remain in the dark after Pacific Gas & Electric cut power to prevent the sparking of wildfires during dry and windy conditions. (Noah Berger / Associated Press)
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A firetruck heads toward flames of the Kincade fire near Geyserville. The fire broke out in spite of rolling blackouts by utility companies in both Northern and Southern California. (Josh Edeleson /AFP/Getty Images)
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Flames approach a vineyard during the Kincade fire near Geyserville, Calif. (Josh Edelson /AFP/Getty Images)
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Embers and smoke spread over a hillside during the Kincade fire near Geyserville, Calif. (Josh Edelson / AFP/Getty Images)
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High winds fuel the Kincade fire near Geyserville, Calif. (Kent Porter / Press Democrat)
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Photographers documenting the Kincade fire leave as the fire approaches Geysers Road in Sonoma County. (Kent Porter / Press Democrat)
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Cows stand on a hill during the Kincade fire in Geyserville, Calif. Fueled by high winds, the fire has burned thousands of acres in a matter of hours and has prompted evacuations in the area. (Justin Sullivan / Getty Images)
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The Kincaide fire burns a hillside in Geyserville, Calif. (Justin Sullivan / Getty Images )
The utilities made the decision to cut power based on forecasts of hot, dry weather and strong winds that pose a high risk for damage to their electric systems, which officials fear could ignite a wildfire.
Forecasts of strong winds, temperatures in the 90-degree range and low humidity prompted the National Weather Service to issue red flag warnings through 5 p.m. Friday for much of Southern California and through 4 p.m. Thursday in large swaths of Northern California.
“A combination of strong winds, low relative humidity and warm temperatures can contribute to extreme fire behavior,” the weather service wrote. “Use extreme caution with potential fire ignition sources.”
In Northern California, there’s potentially worse news ahead.
The National Weather Service in Sacramento is forecasting another wind event starting late Saturday that could be the strongest so far this fall.
“Downed trees, power outages & difficult driving conditions are possible,” the weather service said Wednesday in a tweet.
On Wednesday night, PG&E officials told reporters at a news conference that they were anticipating another “public safety power shut-off” this weekend if that forecast comes to fruition.
“Our plan, given the projected all-clear, is that we will have everybody restored who could be affected by the second one before it happens, so our plan is to hook everybody back up and then at some point see what those forecasts actually lead to, but we intend to restore everybody,” said Bill Johnson, chief executive of PG&E.
PG&E anticipates that “all clear” moment will be noon Thursday. The utility has said it could take up to 48 hours to restore power to all customers.
Power shut-offs by the utility companies have prompted backlash from customers, with some residents saying the outages create a whole new set of dangers as they try to watch for news about fires that have broken out across the state, including the massive Kincade fire in Sonoma County and the smaller but fast-moving Old Water fire in San Bernardino.
Both fires have forced residents to evacuate.
Critics also worry that communications and evacuations will be hampered if the power is out, especially if traffic signals don’t work and cellphone service is affected.
Equipment malfunctions have been tied to some of the state’s most destructive and deadly fires, including last year’s Camp fire, which devastated the town of Paradise in Northern California and killed 85 people, and the 2017 wine country blazes.
Investigators determined last year that Edison power lines ignited the 2017 Thomas fire, a massive blaze in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties that killed two people. Officials are still trying to determine whether power lines sparked the Woolsey fire, which ripped through Ventura County and Malibu in November 2018.
Southern California Edison has also faced scrutiny over possible links between the company’s electrical system and the start of the Saddleridge fire, which scorched nearly 8,800 acres in the hills of the northern San Fernando Valley this month and destroyed several homes.
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