Mountain Communities in southern California, disappointed with power supply and snow on the road – Ktla Los Angeles

With the snow for the San Bernardino Mountains, this weekend residents who have remained for days or weeks without electricity are disappointed and concerned, especially with the onset of winter weather.

In order to reduce the risk of forest fire, power in the region was stopped, leaving thousands of throughout the internal empire to struggle to live and work.

Southern California Edison said that power outages usually occur “during dangerous weather conditions to prevent our electrical system from becoming a source of ignition. These safety shutdowns are the last measure to protect you and your community. “

Although the power supply was restored in some communities, residents say that stopping can happen at any time without announcing when it will be restored. As the snow comes, locals worry that the stopping will happen during a dangerous winter time.

Many residents, such as Michel Kolkins, a resident of Lake Arrowhead, require answers from Socal Edison leaders.

“I would invite [the executives] In my house to come to endure the snow with me with a break in the current when it will fall below 30 degrees, “Kolkins said. “Come and enjoy it without a generator, without a stove, and figure out how to warm us with us.”

Kolkins said that he understood the need for precautions, but living every day without knowing when the power supply would be restored, was disappointing and potentially dangerous.

“The slim border is difficult because I understand the danger of fire, but at the same time for us here in rural areas, excluding the power supply at night puts many of us in a really bad position at these freezing temperatures. “

Heather Paul, who owns a gift shop in Running Springs, said the lack of electricity resulted in a 25% decrease in revenue compared to the same time as it could not open a business.

“I believe we have probably had six days of losing business due to power outage,” Paul said.

The locals who own Airbnbs said that angry guests left without electricity during their stay also wanted a refund. Many wonder if long -term solutions are being developed.

“If that is going to be something, it can’t be the new normal,” Paul said. “It’s crazy. Will we put the wires underground? “

Socal Edison said that public safety shutdowns are usually the last measure that depends on several factors, including wind speed and surrounding vegetation. As for the upcoming snowfall, predicted this weekend, employees could not confirm whether the power would be stopped as they continue to monitor real -time conditions.

The Supervisory Board of San Bernardino County wrote an open letter to SoCal Edison on the matter, in part said:

“In the last few days, we have heard from many concerned residents about the interruptions of the power supply of Southern California Edison (SCE). Some of these interruptions have been going on for more than a week and people are understandably disappointed, especially our mountain communities that rely on electricity to warm up during these cold winter months.

The interruptions are extremely severe for our elderly people. Unfortunately, the county has no control over these events due to the current state -imposed provisions that give local jurisdictions zero control over energy resources in such circumstances. We certainly understand the threat of strong winds that can significantly load our energy infrastructure and increase the risk of fires and we are very happy that we have not experienced devastating emergencies, unlike our neighbors in Los Angeles County.

However, it is clear that there are many problems with the way SCE has dealt with this wind event. Many residents who live well outside of fire -dangerous areas experience prolonged interruptions. In many cases, there was a little communication from SCE with its customers about when the power supply would be restored. The lack of useful information from SCE is alarming. SCE must have more flexibility built into their schemes to minimize the number of customers that are affected.

In addition, the state of California continues its premature pursuit of complete electrification, which will only increase the problem. The state must realize the impact of its policies on our communities and take action to ensure that what happened during this wind will not become a new standard in our district. “

Complaints and concerns about SCE can be submitted to CPUC online here. As the state controls Edison, we also encourage you to engage your state representatives on this issue.

Here you can find a website of San Bernardino County, providing resources for residents during extreme winds and interruptions.

Residents can check that their neighborhood is a ban on public safety by visiting the SoCal Edison website.