Wildfires raging uncontrollably around Los Angeles in the US state of California have left more than 400,000 homes and businesses without electricity.
The crisis has resulted in significant challenges for emergency services and has prompted the implementation of public safety power shutoffs (PSPS) to mitigate further risks.
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As of 4pm Pacific Standard Time on 8 January 2024, Southern California Edison (SCE), a subsidiary of US utility Edison International, reported that 8,413,639 customers were without power.
Of these outages, 183,186 are due to PSPS, while 230,453 are linked to a windstorm, with an additional 453,872 customers under a PSPS watch but still connected to the grid.
SCE stated: “Given the unsafe conditions for electric power restorations, customers may experience several days of outages. SCE will restore service as soon as it is safe to do so.”
The company has faced scrutiny as its primary outage management system is offline, complicating the situation further, according to a report by Reuters.
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By GlobalDataSCE spokesperson Jeff Monford explained that power safety shutoffs are implemented to reduce the risk of wildfires caused by airborne objects striking power lines.
Monford urged the public to avoid downed power lines and remain vigilant during this critical period.
The timeline for power restoration remains uncertain, as crews must wait for the dangerous conditions to subside before they can address damaged lines and distribution facilities.
The Palisades wildfire has burned more than 15,000 acres between the beach towns of Santa Monica and Malibu with parts of the areas under evacuation orders.
Additional fires have also emerged, including a 10,600-acre blaze near Pasadena and Hollywood Hills which has led to further evacuations.
The impact of the wildfires has also affected SCE’s stock performance, with shares dropping as much as 13.8% to $66.70, marking its lowest level since April 2024. The fall is likely to become the largest one-day percentage decline since the Covid-19 pandemic of 2020/21.
