Southern California Edison officials said electric circuits in some high fire risk areas might be shut off Monday, as the first big Santa Ana windstorm of the fall will bring wind gusts of up to 75 miles per hour to the area.
A spokesman for SCE said neighborhoods in foothill communities from Santa Clarita to Pasadena could get their electricity shut off, under a new state policy that allows protective blackouts. Santiago Canyon and nearby foothill areas in Orange County might also see pre-emptive blackouts, but not Malibu or the Santa Monica Mountains, where winds were not expected to exceed SCE's danger thresholds.
At midafternoon Sunday, spokesman Paul Netter told City News Service that certain mountain-adjacent neighborhoods in Los Angeles, Orange, Ventura and San Bernardino counties have been notified there is a "possibility of a shutdown of power" in some limited areas because of high winds.
"I want to emphasize that no decision has been made regarding power shutdowns," Netter said.
SCE is acting under new authority from the California Public Utilities Commission, which okayed shutdowns before fires break out. Such unprecedented blackouts are allowed because of the years of drought and changing weather patterns, CPUC safety experts have said.
Neighborhoods that might see intentional blackouts Sunday night or Monday:
Ventura County
Parts of: Camarillo, Fillmore, Moorpark, Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks, Santa Paula, Crosson, Somis, Santa Rosa Valley and Ojai.
Los Angeles County
Parts of: Mount Wilson, Newhall, Stevenson Ranch, Castaic, Azusa, Covina, Glendora, Santa Clarita, Valencia, Mamba Canyon Country, La Canada Flintridge, La Crescenta, Montrose, San Fernando, Sylmar and Pasadena.
Orange County
Parts of: Orange, Irvine, Silverado, Trabuco Canyon, Rancho Santa Margarita and Trabuco Canyon.
San Bernardino
Parts of: Fontana, Rancho Cucamonga, Alta Loma, San Bernardino, Mt. Baldy, Lytle Creek, Upland, Rialto and Alta Loma.
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power services much of that area, and is not part of the intentional blackout warnings.
Red Flag warnings were posted to go up at 10 p.m. Sunday in western Los Angeles and Ventura counties Sunday night, and forecasters said the approaching weather pattern was predicted to be a bit more severe than earlier thought.
Utility officials in northern California said they might switch off some power circuits due to high winds. San Diego Gas and Electric Co. officials said they were not planning blackouts.
Gusty and potentially damaging Santa Ana winds were predicted to arise Sunday night and early Monday morning, NBC4's David Biggar said. Gusts between 50 and 75 mph were held possible through Monday.
A significant warming and drying trend will develop as a high pressure system over inland deserts pushes air through canyons and over mountain slopes, the forecast said. High temperatures in 80s to lower 90s will be prevalent along the Los Angeles coast and valley areas.
But overnight lows will be quite chilly in some wind-sheltered areas and the interior valleys. A Freeze Watch may be issued for the Antelope Valley on Monday night and into Tuesday morning.
There is a chance that Red Flag conditions will persist through Wednesday in the mountains and some valleys, the NWS said.
