Southern California Edison (SCE) crews continue equipment repairs in the area impacted by the Silver Fire in eastern Riverside County. SCE expects to restore service to the majority of customers in the impacted area by midnight tonight. Significant progress has been made since the crews were able to enter the area safely on Friday night. Major infrastructure repairs were needed to restore service to the area and SCE crews have focused their repair efforts on critical assets.

More than 100 SCE personnel have responded to the event as a part of the repair and restoration effort. Some residents may have a delayed restoration due to specific problems in their location, but restored power is expected for all affected customers by Sunday afternoon. Power will not be restored to homes that were destroyed by the fire.

Due to the fire, 242 customers have been without power, some as early as Wednesday, when the fire started. Rugged terrain and severe damage to equipment has posed significant challenges for SCE repair crews. Some of the damaged SCE equipment was in areas inaccessible by vehicles and required a helicopter to complete repairs.

SCE appreciates customers' patience as we work to restore power as quickly and safely as possible. The company and its employees express condolences to those who lost their homes in the fire.

SCE wants to remind customers, residents and others who are in the area to NEVER approach or touch a downed power line. Do NOT touch anything that is in contact with downed lines. Those lines may still be energized and pose a danger. Stay away and call 911 or the fire department immediately.

SCE encourages customers to keep these other safety tips in mind:

  • Watch for traffic signals that may be out. Approach those intersections as four-way stops.
  • Do not use any equipment inside that is designed for outdoor heating or outdoor cooking. Such equipment can emit carbon monoxide and other toxic gases.
  • To prevent loss of data and/or damage to your sensitive electronic equipment, consider surge suppressors or shut off or disconnect all such equipment until power has been restored. This will protect against electrical events that can accompany outages or that can occur during service restoration.
  • If you use a generator, place it outdoors and plug individual appliances directly into the generator, using a heavy duty extension cord. Connecting generators directly to household circuits creates “backfeed,” which is dangerous to repair crews.
  • Leave the doors of your refrigerator and freezer closed to keep your food as fresh as possible. Place blocks of ice inside to help keep food cold. Check food carefully for signs of spoilage.
  • Check on your neighbors to make sure everyone is safe.

Customers can visit SCE.com to report and stay informed regarding outages, and to find additional information regarding SCE's response to service disruptions. This information is also accessible by using SCE's mobile application.