Lake Elsinore Power Outage: City Opens Care, Reception Center Amid Intense Heat

LAKE ELSINORE, CA — As nearly 2,000 residents and businesses remained without power in Lake Esinore, city officials say a care and reception center is open Friday. The center is located at the Lake Elsinore Cultural Arts Center locatedat 183 N. Main Street in Lake Elsinore.

"The care and reception center will operate from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday or until power is fully restored," city officials said in a news release.

As of 3 p.m., Southern California Edison data indicated that 918 customers were affected by one outage — sparked by Thursday's storm which knocked down power poles and lines — and another outage was affecting 1,013 customers, also sparked by downed lines.

The outages began at 2:37 p.m. Thursday, affecting 2,950 customers initially, according to SoCal Edison.

Full power wasn't expected to be restored until around 5 p.m. Friday, but that time frame is subject to change.

High temperatures Friday were forecast be 109 to 115 in the Riverside and Lake Elsinore areas, 92 to 99 in the mountains, 106 to 11 in the San Gorgonio Pass and 110 to 115 in the Coachella Valley.

SEE ALSO: Power Lines, Trees Downed As Temecula, Murrieta and Lake Elsinore Hit By Monsoon [PHOTOS, VIDEO]

"An excessive heat warning issued by the National Weather Service remains in effect until 10 p.m. Saturday," city officials said. "Community members without power are urged to visit the care and reception center or find another cool, safe place to get out of the heat. Water and air conditioning will be available at the center, and is operated by the County of Riverside Department of Public Social Services, the County of Riverside Emergency Management Department, and the City of Lake Elsinore."

The city also offered the following advice:

Food Safety
Remember, it is extremely important to follow safe food handling instructions when the power is out. Keep
refrigerator and freezer doors closed as long as possible and discard anything questionable. Bacteria grows
quickly on food without refrigeration. Discard foods with an internal temperature of more than 41F. Read
more food safety information here and at www.rivcoeh.org.

Power Restoration
Residents and businesses may find information related to the power outage by contacting Southern
California Edison at www.sce.com/outage or at (800) 611-1911.

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Image via Shutterstock / City News Service contributed to this report.