ESCONDIDO, Calif. (KGTV) - A retired Escondido homeowner is figuring out how she'll pay for Thanksgiving dinner after everything she bought for the holiday was spoiled during a power outage.
On a fixed income, Carol Marbrey purchased the meal at the beginning of the month.
“I was never warned that my electric would be turned off, and then I was told it would be on by 7:30 AM, then I was told it would be on by noon, and this is all online, and then I was told it would five at night.”
Marbrey came home that night to a dark house; power wasn't restored until the next day.
The outage happened earlier this week during the extreme wind conditions and Red Flag Warning countywide.
San Diego Gas & Electric says some customers weren't warned because it was a fluid situation, with weather conditions changing by the hour.
A spokesperson tells 10News after power is shut off, technicians must inspect hundreds of miles of lines before turning them back on.
Marbrey says she called the company several times to understand the situation.
“I was getting different answers as to why our electric was not going on," said Marbrey.
An SDG&E spokesperson tells 10News they encountered an issue trying to re-energize Marbrey's circuit, by then it was getting dark, and they had to wait until the following day.
Marbrey says she understands the necessity to keep the community safe but wishes she’d been better informed.
She knows her situation could be a lot worse.
“Our hearts really go out to those people that really suffered; we really respect the fire department, the electrical people that are on the ground, the maintenance people, everyone that's doing their best to keep us safe.”
Marbrey estimates they lost $200 to $300 in spoiled food. Her efforts to get reimbursed by SDG&E have been unsuccessful so far.
SDG&E says they generally don't reimburse spoiled food during an extreme weather situation, but that customers can still try and make a claim.
