The first Santa Anas of the season triggered a power shutoff for thousands of Southern Californians on Wednesday as utilities, firefighters and health officials were put on alert for impacts from the strong winds and unseasonably warm temperatures.<\/p>\n
More than 2,000 Southern California Edison customers lost power as part of a public safety power shutoff, utility officials said, and another 22,373 shutoffs for customers were being considered.<\/p>\n
The outage affected customers in Los Angeles, Ventura, San Bernardino and Riverside counties as a two-day Santa Ana wind event<\/a> pushed temperatures into the 90s, with wind gusts hitting 50 mph in some areas.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want to prevent anything that\u2019s become airborne from hitting a power line and igniting a spark,\u201d SCE spokesperson Jeff Monford said in a statement. <\/p>\n The utility said power would be restored for customers by midnight. California\u2019s three largest utilities have adopted a strategy in the last decade of cutting off power to customers in wind-prone areas when the weather creates a risk of fast-moving wildfires so their equipment does not create a dangerous spark.<\/p>\n SCE is currently being investigated for its equipment potentially starting the Eaton fire that killed 19 people in January.<\/p>\n On Wednesday, wind gusts peaked around 50 mph in multiple areas, including the San Gabriel Mountains and the Santa Susana Mountains in Ventura County, according to the National Weather Service. Even the Santa Clarita Valley saw gusts as high as 40 mph.<\/p>\n Temperatures were expected to reach up to 95 degrees across the Los Angeles Basin before a cooldown starting Thursday, when temperatures are expected to be in the low 90s in the valleys, upper 80s in downtown L.A. and in the upper 70s along the coast, said meteorologist Ryan Kittell.<\/p>\n The heat is expected to continue easing on Friday, but it will still remain relatively warm, Kittell said.<\/p>\n