Malibu suffers cell phone and power outages as the Franklin fire burns

Cell service proved challenging in Malibu, where the Franklin fire burned Tuesday.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said the fire burned some cell towers in the area and affected service. The extent of the outage is unclear, but people in the area reported problems making phone calls.

Additionally, there were several power outages Tuesday morning in the area where the fire was burning – some shut down for firefighter safety, others as part of widespread public safety shutdowns, planned power outages to avoid potential fire sparks from utility equipment, according to David Eisenhauer to limit. an Edison speaker from Southern California.

He had no details about the outages surrounding the fire. Across the region, more than 40,000 customers had their power turned off because of the planned shutdowns due to high winds, about a quarter of them in Los Angeles County. Another 200,000 were being considered for shutdown.

It was not immediately clear how many such outages there were in Malibu.

Officials had been preparing for strong winds in Santa Ana, saying Monday that more than 350,000 customers from Kern to San Diego counties could lose power because of the planned safety shutdowns. It’s unclear how many actually lost power.