Be Thankful If You Have Power This Windy Thanksgiving Weekend

Nearly 18,000 Southern California Edison customers are still dealing with power outages the day after Thanksgiving. That includes approximately 6,500 people in L.A. County and 2,500 people in Riverside County as of late Friday afternoon. That's down from the 64,000 customers who had no power Thursday, which was more than double the number of customers who were cut off in 2020 on Thanksgiving.
With the Santa Ana winds blowing strong and fierce, the utility cut electricity to thousands of homes and businesses as a safety precaution. The utility hopes to avoid the risk of downed power lines sparking debris and vegetation as winds averaging 40 miles per hour whipped through many parts of the Southern California.
Most of those wind advisories have been lifted and the red flag warnings for fire conditions should be lifted by 6 p.m. Friday night. But a spokesperson for SoCal Edison tells LAist/KPCC it could take a while longer to get everyone's power back online as crews inspect lines in areas of concern.
As of Friday midday, shutoffs are concentrated near Malibu, Filmore, Tujunga in L.A. and Banning in Riverside County.
SoCal Edison employees went out to neighborhoods where the power had been shut off and distributed kits containing rechargeable battery-operated lights, phone chargers and coupons for ice and groceries.

Yesterday's power cutoff affected some residents of these areas:
- Rancho Santa Margarita
- Chino Hills
- Silverado
- Jurupa Valley

Click here to see a map with all the areas that have had their power shut off and where officials are considering shutting off power.
Several swaths of Southern California remain under high wind advisories through Friday at noon.