SCE Crews Work With First Responders to Gain Access to Fire-Damaged Areas

December 6, 2017

Four wildfires continue to scorch the Southland as more Santa Ana
winds are expected throughout the week

ROSEMEAD, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–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.