Media Contact: (626) 302-2255
ROSEMEAD, Calif., Jan. 27, 2012 — High winds are forecast for many areas of Southern California and red flag warnings will be in effect today through Saturday evening. Southern California Edison (SCE) reminds its customers outages might occur and to never approach or touch downed power lines. If you see a downed line or dangling wire — even if it appears not to be live — don’t touch or approach it and call 911 immediately.
Santa Ana wind conditions are expected to peak tonight and early Saturday. The National Weather Service is forecasting strong winds in Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside, Orange, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties.
SCE is closely monitoring the conditions and has crews on standby to respond immediately, should there be outages. If outages occur, customers can get the latest information at www.sce.com, www.Twitter.com/SoCalEdison and www.facebook.com/socaledison.
Customers on the medical baseline program, who require medical equipment powered by electricity, can get information by calling these numbers:
- English: (800) 684-8123
- Spanish: (800) 441-2233
- Chinese: (800) 843-8343
- Korean: (800) 628-3061
- Vietnamese: (800) 327-3031
- Cambodian: (800) 843-1309
- TTY (800) 352-8580
Customer safety is a top priority for SCE. Because of the high fire danger, do not use candles for lighting as they pose a significant fire hazard. Also, check emergency supplies to be sure you have a battery-operated radio, a flashlight and fresh, extra batteries.
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 during the windstorm or until power has been restored to 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.
A video and fact sheet about power line safety is available at: www.sce.com/powerlines. The information is available in Spanish at: www.sce.com/cables.
About Southern California Edison
An Edison International (NYSE:EIX) company, Southern California Edison is one of the nation’s largest electric utilities, serving a population of nearly 14 million via 4.9 million customer accounts in a 50,000-square-mile service area within Central, Coastal and Southern California.
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