Fire Danger Remains High Tuesday As Santa Ana Winds Continue To Batter Region
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) – Power has been restored to all but about 1,000 Southern California Edison customers in Los Angeles and Orange counties Tuesday following Monday's powerful Santa Ana wind gusts that knocked out power to thousands of people across the Southland.
As of 8 a.m. Tuesday, only 627 Edison customers in Los Angeles County were without electricity and 276 people in Orange County. Another 5,200 were without power in Riverside County.
At the height of the Santa Ana wind event Monday, more than 53,000 Edison customers were in the dark in those two counties.
According to its website, the L.A. Department of Water and Power had reported no significant outages Tuesday. At one time Monday, nearly 9,000 LADWP customers were without power.
Most of the outages were attributed to the gusty winds. But as the winds continue, customers in some areas might have their power cut voluntarily.
Utility companies such as Edison monitor conditions during extreme fire conditions and can cut power in select areas to reduce fire danger from damaged electrical lines.
The Santa Ana winds continued into Tuesday, keeping fire danger high. A Red Flag Warning is in effect through 8 p.m. Tuesday across most of L.A., Orange and Ventura counties due to gusty winds and low humidity. Wind gusts were between 25 and 35 miles per hour.
"It's still going to be warm and dry this afternoon, breezy too, Red Flag Warning still with us," CBS2 Meteorologist Danielle Gersh said. "Winds are breezy this morning in the mountains and the passes, much calmer though in comparison to this time yesterday."
On Monday, a 34-year-old woman was killed in Tustin when an eucalyptus tree fell on her car.
