Weather
Planned Power Outages Continue In Riverside County
The high winds prompted Southern California Edison to issue Public Safety Power Shutoffs.
RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — Gusty Santa Ana winds blew through Riverside County Tuesday, and conditions were expected to continue into at least Wednesday, raising the risk of wildfires and more public safety power shutoffs.
Thousands of Riverside County residents were hit Tuesday by power outages stemming from the fierce winds that brought gusts of over 80 mph in mountain areas and above 50 mph in local foothills and pass areas.
As of 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, 18,554 Southern California Edison customers were without electricity as part of the utility's public safety power shutoffs, and another 18,728 ratepayers were under power shutoff consideration.
Find out what's happening in Banning-Beaumontfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
To see a map of the SCE planned power shutoffs, click here.
The planned shutoffs result in electricity being turned off for customers in wind-prone areas to prevent the possibility of downed power lines sparking wildfires.
A red flag warning was in effect through 10 p.m. Tuesday in the Inland Empire, and a high wind warning was in effect through 10 p.m. Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service.
Find out what's happening in Banning-Beaumontfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The Coachella Valley was no longer under the warnings as of Tuesday afternoon, but the NWS issued a flash flood watch for the region that is in effect from 12 a.m. Wednesday until 12 a.m. Thursday.
The NWS warned that the strong winds could make travel difficult for high profile vehicles and blow down trees and power lines, potentially causing widespread power outages.
