Officials warn of possible power outages in Southern California due to dangerous fire weather

LOS ANGELES – Officials are warning thousands of residents across Southern California that their power could be shut off to prevent electrical equipment from starting wildfires during severe weather.

Santa Ana winds will sweep across much of the region Tuesday and continue through midweek. Combined with low humidity, dangerous wildfire conditions can occur.

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According to Southern California Edison’s website, there are currently 45,989 customers affected by power outages:

• Los Angeles County: 11,555
• Orange County: 452
• Riverside County: 9,518
• San Bernardino County: 10,234
• Ventura County: 12,052

An estimated 215,000 SCE customers are being considered for power shutoffs.

The Santa Ana winds could bring gusts of up to 80 mph to parts of the region and trigger a Particularly Dangerous Situation (PDS) fire weather warning for much of the Santa Ana Wind Corridor in Los Angeles and Ventura counties through Wednesday .

NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center is forecasting “extreme” fire weather conditions Tuesday for places like Santa Clarita, Thousand Oaks, Simi Valley, Moorpark and Santa Paula along the Southern California coast.

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A standard red flag warning remains in effect for these areas, as well as the eastern San Fernando Valley, San Gabriel Valley and the 5 Freeway Corridor until 6 p.m. Wednesday.