SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — San Diego Gas & Electric has warned about 2,700 customers in several East County communities of potential public safety power shutoffs starting Friday morning.
The utility company said outages may occur due to a red flag warning issued by the National Weather Service and the need to reduce wildfire risk in the areas. The affected communities include:
- Alpine
- Campo Reservation
- Crestwood
- Descanso
- Julian
- La Posta Reservation
- Manzanita Reservation
- Pala
- Santa Ysabel
- Santa Ysabel Reservation
- Valley Center
- Viejas Reservation
"The last thing we want to be telling any of our customers right now is that we may have to shut off power given the Thanksgiving holiday weekend and the ongoing COVID pandemic," said SDG&E’s Chief Customer Officer Scott Crider. "Public Safety Power Shutoffs are a last resort to prevent wildfires, and our employees are dedicated to doing everything we can to minimize impacts should it come to that. We’re hoping Mother Nature cooperates, but in an abundance of caution we have reached out to our customers so they can be prepared."
SDG&E says several hundred linemen, troubleshooters, and support personnel will be working on Thanksgiving Day and through the holiday weekend to monitor the grid.
The red flag warning will be in effect from 9 p.m. Thursday through 9 a.m. Saturday for San Diego County's inland valleys and mountains. Moderate strength Santa Ana winds are expected in areas of the backcountry. The strongest winds are forecasted to arrive on Friday.
To see what communities may be impacted by any public safety outages, SDG&E has a list online.
