Record-breaking heat from earlier this month will be a distant memory as incoming rain will soon blanket the state.
At least three consecutive storms are headed toward Southern California Edison’s service area. The first and strongest system is set to hit Monday — Presidents Day — with rainfall totals between 1.5-3 inches in lower elevations and up to 4 inches in the foothills. The second and third systems will linger through Wednesday and drop snow elevations to below 6,000 feet.
The storms will bring gusty winds and the potential for thunderstorms, which means pockets of heavy downpour could lead to flooding. Flash flooding and debris flow are possible for areas in and around burn scars.
“We are closely monitoring storm conditions that are expected across the service area,” said Pamela Pernin, SCE senior manager of Business Resiliency and Emergency Events. “While recent rainfall has reduced fire risk, high winds could pose an outage risk that may be compounded by tree falls due to saturated soils. We are prepared to quickly respond and restore storm-related outages.”
SCE reminds customers to be mindful of rainy-day hazards and remember to never approach or touch anyone or anything in contact with a downed power line — stay 100 feet away and call 911 immediately.
Here are some additional safety tips:
- Never try to remove a broken tree limb or branch that has come in contact with a power line.
- Sign up for your community’s warning system and SCE alerts.
- Install surge protectors to help safeguard valuable electronic equipment, such as computers and home entertainment systems.
- If you have an automatic garage door or gate, learn to open it manually (without power).
- Make sure you have a battery-operated radio and flashlights. Check the batteries to make sure they’re fresh.
- If you use a generator, place it outdoors and plug individual appliances directly into it, using heavy-duty extension cords. Connecting generators directly to household circuits creates backfeed, which is dangerous for repair crews.
- Make a safety preparedness plan for your family that includes a list and location of emergency items such as water bottles, flashlights, first aid kits, extra blankets, etc.
To check on the status of an outage or to report an outage, visit sce.com/outagemap.
Communications around electrical safety are funded by ratepayers.
