Santa Ana winds prompt potential power outages

Southern California Edison may shut off power in parts of Ventura County Monday in case hazardous conditions caused by strong Santa Ana winds develop, officials said.

The National Weather Service has issued a high wind warning for much of county. By 10 a.m., wind gusts had reached close to 75 mph at the Camarillo Airport, said David Sweet, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard.

"We're experiencing pretty much the peak of the winds at this point," he said around mid-morning.

Edison said it was monitoring circuits throughout the region, including more than a dozen locally. Power could be shut off to prevent electrical equipment from sparking a fire – outages called Public Safety Power Shutoffs, or PSPS.

As of Monday morning, monitored areas included 12,900 local customers in spots around Simi Valley, Camarillo, Thousand Oaks, Moorpark, Santa Paula, Fillmore and Ventura.

The Santa Anas were expected to taper off slightly Monday afternoon but continue overnight and through Tuesday morning. By Tuesday afternoon, they were expected to die down, Sweet said.

The forecast for Thanksgiving called for partly cloudy skies with highs near 70, he said.

More information about potential power shutoffs is available at sce.com/psps. Local information about any outages is available at vcemergency.com.

To sign up for emergency alerts from the Ventura County sheriff's Office of Emergency Services, go to readyventuracounty.org/vc-alert/.

Cheri Carlson covers the environment and county government for the Ventura County Star. Reach her at cheri.carlson@vcstar.com or 805-437-0260.

This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: What to know about Santa Ana winds, power outages in Ventura County