Utility companies are still working to restore power to tens of thousands of customers, with many areas experiencing deliberate electricity shutoffs for safety reasons.
As of Sunday evening, about 18,500 customers in the city of Los Angeles are still without power, according to the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP).
Utility giant Southern California Edison (SCE) on Sunday said it had about 63,000 customers without power — an increase from the previous day, mostly due to the deliberate shutoffs “implemented in response to weather conditions.”
SCE and LAPWP have already restored power to hundreds of thousands of customers since the fires began last week, and have crews on the ground assessing fire-affected areas to prepare for restoration efforts.
“Once fire agencies release areas for restoration, damage assessment crews inspect areas and remove safety hazards,” said SCE. This includes clearing debris and vegetation to support crews restoring power lines; once those repairs are complete, power is restored first to essential services, then to customers.
Wind forecast: Southern California Edison warned that dangerous conditions — such as the powerful Santa Ana winds forecast to come early this week — could impact that progress, and even prompt more pre-emptive safety power shutoffs.
Water shortages: The power shutoffs are important to protect firefighters from falling power lines — but also posed a problem last week when crews faced water shortages from hydrants.
In Altadena, where the Eaton Fire broke out, issues with dry hydrants were traced back to a lack of electricity, said Bob Gomperz, a board member at a utility company that provides water to the western region of Altadena.
In foothill communities like Altadena, he said, water needs to be pumped into tanks at higher elevations so the water can flow downhill when needed relying on gravity. But after those tanks were drained by firefighters, they couldn’t be refilled – the power shutoffs meant they couldn’t pump water to where it was needed.
President Joe Biden also pointed to the same issue last week, saying fire officials brought generators into those areas to facilitate water pumping.
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