SCE Crews Work With First Responders to Gain Access to Fire-Damaged Areas
December 06 2017 - 5:41PM
Business Wire
Four wildfires continue to scorch the Southland as more Santa
Ana winds are expected throughout the week
As four wildfires continue to rage across the
Southland, Southern California Edison’s damage assessment teams
and crews are working with first responders to see when they can
safely enter the devastated areas to identify the extent of damage
and begin making repairs.
As of 10 a.m. this morning, there are approximately 11,000
customers without power across SCE’s service territory.
This number includes customers who have been impacted by the four
active fires across the service area. These include the:
- Thomas fire along the North Coast
(8,400 customers)
- Creek fire in Sylmar (16
customers)
- Rye fire in Santa Clarita ( 6
customers)
- Little Mountain fire in San Bernardino
(no customers)
“We appreciate our customers’ patience as we work to restore
service under difficult and volatile conditions,” said Paul
Grigaux, incident commander and SCE vice president of Transmission,
Substations and Operations. “Depending on wind and fire conditions
throughout the week, these outage numbers could fluctuate
dramatically.”
Wind advisories and high-wind watches have been
issued by the National Weather Service for most mountain areas,
passes, foothills and the Inland Empire. Santa Ana winds are
expected to pick up once again tonight and move in an easterly
direction.
SCE has mobilized resources to the impacted areas and has
additional crews and personnel on standby in case there are outages
caused by the fires. Many of the scheduled maintenance outages in
areas affected by the fires will be rescheduled.
SCE’s priority is to restore the transmission system or reroute
power from unaffected areas to impacted customers. SCE is also
contacting critical care and medical baseline
customers affected by the Thomas Fire.
“Power outages and intermittent service interruptions will
continue for customers as the fires burn and impact our
facilities,” said Grigaux. “Due to the fires, the system
could face additional strain and we are asking customers
to conserve energy.”
Transmission lines will continue to be threatened as the fires
burn along the transmission path, possibly causing additional
interruptions. A local transmission emergency was declared by the
California Independent System Operator due to the loss of critical
transmission lines serving the Ventura and Santa Barbara area, and
the system operator has requested additional generation units to
support restoration of power for the impacted area.
Customers who received a recent notification of a maintenance
outage can check on its status by going
to sce.com/outage. Then select: “View Your Maintenance
Outage Status.” Customers can use the outage number from their
notification to get the latest information.
Customers may report or inquire about outages at 800-611-1911
and get the latest information using the SCE outages app
at sce.com/outages. Customers can also get the latest
information by visiting www.sce.com/staysafe or
at twitter.com/sce and facebook.com/sce.
SCE Safety Tips in Fire Areas & High-Wind
Conditions:
- Remember to check emergency supplies to
be sure you have a battery-operated radio, a flashlight and fresh
batteries. Do not use candles for lighting as they pose a fire
hazard.
- If you’re in a vehicle with a fallen
power line on it, stay in the vehicle and remain calm until help
arrives. It is OK to use your cellphone to call 911. If you must
leave the vehicle, remember to exit away from downed power lines
and exit by jumping from the vehicle and landing with both feet
together. You must not touch the vehicle and the ground at the same
time. Then proceed away from the vehicle by shuffling and not
picking up your feet until you are several yards away.
- Power outages in the area may impact
traffic signals, and vehicles should treat all intersections as
four-way-stops. Use extreme caution.
- Use flashlights instead of candles to
avoid fire hazards in your homes and businesses.
- Water and electricity don’t mix. Water
is an excellent conductor of electricity. Do not step in or enter
any water that a downed power line may be touching.
- If you use a generator, place it
outdoors and plug individual appliances directly into it, using a
heavy-duty extension cord. Connecting generators directly to
household circuits creates “backfeed,” which is dangerous to repair
crews. Please consult the manufacturer’s manual for operating the
generator.
- Do not use any equipment inside that is
designed for outdoor heating or cooking. Such equipment can emit
carbon monoxide and other toxic gases.
Energy Conservation Tips:
• Set thermostats to no higher than 68 degrees.
• Postpone using major appliances like dishwashers and
washer/dryers.
• Minimize how often you open your refrigerator or freezer.
• Turn off unnecessary lights.
For story link and assets:
www.insideedison.com/stories/sce-crews-work-with-first-responders-to-gain-access-to-fire-damaged-areas
By Caroline Aoyagi-Stom
View source
version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171206006357/en/
Southern California EdisonMedia Contact:Media Relations, (626)
302-2255
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