Nov 27, 2020 - Energy & Climate

Thousands of California residents without power amid fire danger

Oriana González

Picture of a Southern California Edison worker on a utility pole — Photo: Maureen Sullivan/Getty Images

More than 9,000 people were in the dark on Friday morning in several counties across Southern California, according to Southern California Edison.

The state of play: Edison began switching off power to customers on Thanksgiving Day as strong Santa Ana winds increased wildfire risk in the region.

Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino and Ventura counties have largely gone dark, with Kern and Riverside counties under consideration.

More than 102,000 customers are facing potential power shutoffs.

Worth noting: The National Weather Service issued a high-winds warning on Friday as gusts top 55 mph and isolated gusts up to 70 mph blew near and below the Cajon Pass and in the Santa Ana Mountains.

Zoom out: The outages come as California experiences a spike of coronavirus infections, with nearly 15,000 new cases and 104 deaths reported on Thursday.

State officials urged residents to avoid large gatherings for Thanksgiving.

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Thousands of California residents without power amid fire danger

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