San Diego Gas & Electric turned the power back on Monday afternoon for nearly 3,000 customers in the Fallbrook area hit by an outage for much of the day.
With expected Santa Ana winds and elevated fire weather conditions in north San Diego County, the utility had notified approximately 21,480 residents over the weekend that it may have to turn off power to reduce wildfire risk.
The alert came to fruition on Monday when SDG&E shut off power to more than 2,900 customers in the Fallbrook area at about 9 a.m. and hundreds more by 11 a.m. due to gusty winds.
"Before restoring power, our crews completed safety inspections of our electrical system in areas that experienced the strongest winds," SDG&E said in a statement sent out Monday afternoon. "Strong winds can blow tree branches and other debris onto power lines. Inspections were done by foot, vehicle and helicopter."
More good news also came in the same statement: "If the current weather forecast holds, SDG&E does not anticipate the need for further public safety power shutoffs on Tuesday."
Power shutoffs are approved by state regulators as a safety tool to mitigate fire risk during dangerous weather conditions, SDG&E said.
Within the utility's service territory, the strongest winds were expected overnight Sunday through Monday in the Camp Pendleton, Oceanside, Pala Reservation and Fallbrook areas in North County. To view a map of areas at risk of power shutoffs, click here.
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A Red Flag warning will be in effect till 6 p.m. Tuesday for strong northeast winds and extremely low humidity for San Bernardino and Riverside County mountains.
On Saturday, SDG&E sent notifications via phone, text message and email to thousands of customers in those areas to inform them that they are at risk of safety power shutoffs.
"Customers who were notified should be prepared to activate their personal emergency plan to keep their family and pets safe," SDG&E said. "SDG&E will continue to provide customers with updates when there is more certainty about forecasted weather conditions."
