Nearly 1 Million Californians Facing Blackouts on Wildfire Risk

Nearly 1 million people in Southern California are facing blackouts as the state’s three biggest utilities weigh cutting power to prevent live wires from sparking fires during high winds.

Edison International’s Southern California Edison warned it may need to shut off electricity to more than 230,000 homes and businesses in eight counties, the utility said on its website. That’s about 690,000 people based on the size of the average household, and would constitute the region’s largest public-safety blackout this year.

Dry winds that can fan flames and knock power lines down are forecast to rattle Southern California through Friday, with the worst of it on Wednesday and Thursday, the National Weather Service said. California has already been charred by record fires that have burned 4.2 million acres and killed 31 people in 2020. Utilities including Edison and PG&E Corp. have cut power repeatedly to prevent live wires from falling into dry brush.

Edison’s cuts could begin between late Wednesday and Friday, Edison spokesman Chris Abel said.

Sempra Energy’s San Diego Gas & Electric utility also warned Tuesday that 88,700 homes and businesses, or more than 260,000 people, could lose power Wednesday night or Thursday morning, and possibly remain in the dark through Sunday or Monday. Most affected customers would be in the mountains east of San Diego. PG&E, California’s largest utility, said it may cut power to about 600 homes and businesses in Kern County this week, as well.

Last week, Edison cut power to thousands of customers on Thanksgiving during high winds. In 2019, PG&E filed for bankruptcy after its wires sparked the deadliest blaze in state history.

The high winds and blackouts will be mostly confined to Southern California but could touch a portion of the state’s Central Valley as well.