Your power could be shut off this summer to prevent wildfires

As electric companies work to prevent wildfires, Southern California Edison is warning customers of the possibility their power could be shut off during fire season.

SCE says they could de-energize lines in high risk areas during extreme weather conditions.

Some homeowners in the high desert received written notices from the power company, divided over the prospect of preventative public safety power shutoffs.

Click here for more information from SCE.

“Keep the power on,” urged Yucca Valley resident David Maldonado. “Everybody needs their power on for summer and it gets too hot up here and down below in the Coachella Valley.”

“I think the alternative is worse and they’re giving us time to prepare,” said Melody Victor.

This comes after Pacific Gas & Electric, or PG&E, said the Camp Fire in Paradise, Calif., was likley ignited by its equipment, destroying thousands of homes and killing more than 80 people. The company declared bankruptcy as a result.

“I’m older; I like my airconditioning and sure, there’s people with medical conditions,” Dave Bradley said. “But SCE — we’re talking about billions of dollars if they start a wildfire.”

“That’s a kneejerk reaction on SCE’s part in order to get the end result to mitigate their liability,” Mark Miller said.

Others expressed concerns about those under critical care, who rely on electrical medical equipment.

” We should all prepare but not all of us can afford to prepare and buy generators and backup things where we can afford to have everything stay on in our homes,” Maldonado said.

SCE says they work to identify critical care customers, like those with life-saving medical equipment, ensuring they have backup plans and are prepared for power shutoffs.

Some say it’s up to SCE to maintain the brush around their equipment as a preventative measure.

“Things need to be cleaned up as far as brush and everything surrounding these towers and people’s homes,” Maldonado said.

“I just feel that if that’s what we have to do to, you know, keep our homes and so forth, I think the alternative is not good,” said Victor.

SCE will hold a community meeting on June 20 at the DoubleTree in Cathedral City regarding public safety power shutoffs.

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