Southern California Edison has taken action to keep its equipment from sparking new wildfires in windy areas by deliberately cutting power to almost 35,000 customers Thursday across several counties. And the utility says it's prepared to cut off nearly 260,000 more if the wind conditions get too dangerous.
GET THE LATEST FROM SoCaL EDISON HERE: https://www.sce.com/wildfire/psps
Spokesman Reggie Kumas tells KNX that Edison will try to restore power in any affected areas as fast as possible, but says that process can take a while even after the winds have calmed down:
Edison's current deliberate outages are the most extensive since the period around Thanksgiving, when there were also dangerously-high winds in many areas.
With Santa Ana winds blowing through, the fire department is issuing parking restrictions in designated areas starting at eight in the morning.
It's difficult to get large fire engines into many neighborhoods, especially in the foothills anytime but during a fire emergency it can be extremely tough when cars are parked along the way.
"Red Flag No Parking Restrictions" will be in effect in Los Angeles to ensure that parked vehicles do not delay firefighters reaching blazes or residents evacuating. Vehicles will be prohibited from parking on pre-determined narrow streets, hairpin turns, tight curves and key intersections, which are already marked with signs from Caltrans.
Vehicles that are parked within those areas will be towed during the restrictions.
