Residents in Calabasas and Malibu, California, raised concerns after power shutoffs intended to prevent wildfires left them without the ability to call 911 or receive emergency notifications.
Here's what to know
Customers of the electric utility in both Los Angeles County communities experienced three days of shutoffs in October as strong Santa Ana winds drove Malibu's Bryson Fire, according to CBS Los Angeles.
Utilities can use a public safety power shutoff, or PSPS, during a period of wildfire danger. In this case, the utility cut electricity to keep its equipment from starting a fire in the high winds.
Residents voiced their frustrations at a Calabasas City Council meeting.
"No service whatsoever," Jamie Camp said, per CBS Los Angeles. "Cellphone, phone, internet. Everything."
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More background
The recurring nature of the outages was a key source of frustration for residents. They shared their experiences of dealing with shutoffs throughout the year.
Some voiced frustration that the threshold for a PSPS had been lowered over time, resulting in more outages.
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"Once upon a time, the threshold was 40 mph gusts … then it became 30, then it became 20," one person said, according to CBS Los Angeles.
What's being done?
Alicia Weintraub, a city council member who has been mobilizing the community to speak out against the outages, said frequent power shutoffs are unsustainable.
"We can't live in a place where the power goes off every time it's windy," she said, per CBS Los Angeles.
To that end, local officials and residents have proposed solutions, such as neighborhood generators.
SoCal Edison said the intentional outages minimize risk in the fire-prone area.
"We know these outages have been frustrating and inconvenient," a spokesperson said, according to CBS Los Angeles. "Safety must come first, and we continue to invest heavily in resiliency measures to reduce the risk of wildfires, including work in Calabasas to install covered conductors and place powerlines underground."
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Where can I learn more?
The following stories cover other wildfire-related issues, including California shutoff warnings, wildfire-related communication failures in Victoria, and calls to prevent utility-caused fires.
• California residents facing utility shutoff warnings questioned why power lines remain aboveground.
• In Northern California, a utility warned residents that wind-driven shutoffs could cut power to homes.
• In Victoria, a bushfire left families without power or internet, complicating access to warnings.
• California wildfire survivors urged leaders to prevent utility-caused fires, not just debate financial responsibility.
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