Edison International : High Fire Risk for January Despite Winter Rainstorm

The threat of wildfires continues in January despite a welcome late-December storm in the Southland, rainfall that was not enough to reduce the risk.

As dry conditions continue, forecasted high winds up to 50 mph in some areas and high temperatures through early next week will once again elevate the risk for wildfires. To help reduce the risk of fires sparked by electrical equipment, Southern California Edison has notified some customers about possible Public Safety Power Shutoffs, or PSPS.

Five of the six-largest wildfires in California's history took place last year and fires continue to burn throughout the state. Average rainfall totals across Central and Southern California remain 50%-75% below normal for this time of the year. Some of the driest areas - including portions of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties - are once again on alert for possible preventive power shutoffs as part of SCE's wildfire risk mitigation efforts.

'We know that PSPS events significantly impact our customers' daily lives and create hardships on our customers and communities, a burden that is even more consequential with so many customers working and learning from home,' said Incident Commander Terry Ohanian, who is overseeing SCE's emergency response team.

'Our No. 1 priority is safety. If we are forced to shut off power to protect the public, we make every attempt to reduce the number of customers impacted and the length of the outage.'

SCE crews are deployed to inspect power lines to ensure that vegetation and debris have not flown into or damaged equipment during the high-wind event. Once crews on the ground determine it is safe, power will be restored to customers.

While extended outages are possible, SCE will make every effort to temporarily restore power to affected customers, even for a short period of time, as breaks in the weather conditions permit and it is safe to reenergize.

For updates and the latest information on PSPS, customers can visit: sce.com/PSPS. Customers can be notified of a PSPS event by email, phone or text alert. They can also update their SCE contact information and sign up for potential PSPS alerts at sce.com/psps or by calling 800-655-4555.

Customers may report or inquire about outages at 800-611-1911. For information on outages, customers can check sce.com/outages or visit twitter.com/sce and facebook.com/sce.

SCE reminds customers that if they see a downed power line, stay away and call SCE at 800-611-1911 or call 911.