With strong Santa Ana winds in the forecast for the next couple of days, Southern Californians were urged Wednesday to prepare for potential public safety power shutoffs while fire agency officials made plans to mobilize resources to protect against wind-driven wildfires.
The state of California moved Cal Fire and California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services fire resources to Southern California to prepare for the strong winds Thursday through Sunday. Low humidity was also in the forecast, raising the fire risk.
The Los Angeles County Fire Department was putting additional staffing in place, starting Thursday, Oct. 15, at 6 a.m. for the Red Flag weather event, which should end Friday at 10 p.m. if the weather models are correct, according to a spokesperson.
The department has prepositioned strike teams in vulnerable areas, such as Malibu and Santa Clarita, and mobilized additional camp crews and heavy equipment, water tenders, firefighting aircraft, contracted Quebec 1 and 2, two helitankers, so if any fire starts, it can be kept small, according to the department.
A new protocol for closing parks in the Santa Monica Mountains will be used for the first time on Thursday, in order to help prevent wildfires and reduce the amount of people who would need to evacuate if a fire started, according to the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services.
Southern California Edison warned of possible public safety shutoffs, as did the cities of Malibu and Pasadena. Over 95,000 customers in Los Angeles County were being considered for public safety shutoffs by Edison, according to the company.
Residents can check their outage statuses with Southern California Edison online.