By james art 
Superintendent Joe Baca, Jr has issued the following open letter:
In recent weeks, San Bernardino County communities, particularly those in the Fifth Ward — including Bloomington, Colton, Rialto, Rosena Ranch, Muskogee and San Bernardino — have faced extended power outages lasting several days. These disruptions have led to significant challenges for both residents and businesses, many of whom are already facing significant socio-economic hardship.
The residents of these communities are primarily low-income families who cannot afford to have the power shut off for extended periods. Such extended outages not only threaten the well-being and safety of these families, but also create additional financial burdens, such as the loss of perishable goods, interruptions to work and education, and the inability to power medical devices or maintain basic household operations.
While we appreciate Southern California Edison’s efforts and cooperation in addressing this matter, we respectfully urge the agency to take a more proactive approach to preventing and mitigating these disruptions in the future. This may include improving infrastructure resilience, improving communication and notification systems, and implementing targeted measures to minimize the duration and impact of power outages.
We recognize the importance of balancing safety with reliability of service, especially during critical fire seasons, and we applaud your dedication to ensuring public safety. However, it is crucial to prioritize the needs of vulnerable communities, ensuring that they are adequately supported and that blackouts are used as a last resort rather than a routine solution. Additionally, we encourage continuous and transparent communication with community members and the provision of available resources to help them navigate these challenges.
Families and businesses in these affected areas deserve reliable access to power and the confidence that their utility provider is taking every possible step to avoid extended outages.
Thank you for your attention to this urgent matter. We look forward to your response and to seeing meaningful action taken to address these ongoing challenges.
Sincerely,
Joe Baca, Jr.
Fifth District Manager
San Bernardino County