Crews working to restore knocked out power to Edison and DWP customers

Utility crews were working Saturday to restore service to approximately 50,000 Los Angeles Department of Water and Power customers and about 900 Southern California Edison customers in Los Angeles and Orange counties without electricity.

At the peak of Friday’s storm, more than 82,000 DWP customers were without power.

“Additional crews reported at 6 a.m. this morning and will work through the day and around the clock to get customers’ power restored as quickly and safely as possible,” DWP spokeswoman Kimberly Hughes told City News Service. “It’s all hands on deck.”

By 2 p.m. the number was about 50,000 customers, she said.

“With the high number of individual outage incidents and potential for continued rain, LADWP power system staff currently estimates restoration for most customers will take between 12 and 24 hours,” Hughes said. Lingering showers and thunderstorms in the area could slow progress.

The areas with the greatest number of outages include Koreatown, Harvard Heights and Valley Glen, she said.

The most frequent causes of power outages during heavy rainstorms are downed trees, dried palm fronds, and branches from trees on both private and public property falling and making contact with power lines, Hughes said.

“This can result in extended outages as trees often need to be removed before our crews can begin restoration work,” Hughes said.

The department added crews in advance of the latest storm systems, she said.

“LADWP urges all customers to use caution around downed or dangling power lines or poles,” Hughes said.

Anyone seeing a downed wire should always assume it is live, refrain from touching it and immediately call 911.

Southern California Edison reported about 880 customers without power in Los Angeles and Orange counties, including Agoura Hills, Costa Mesa and Lake Forest, according to its website.

—City News Service