The number of San Diego Gas & Electric customers in backcountry communities without power due to safety outages increased after strong Santa Ana winds blasted San Diego County overnight .

As of 9 a.m. Thursday, 1,263 customers had their power shut off preemptively in hopes of reducing the risk of wind knocking power lines to the ground and potentially starting a wildfire. As of Wednesday, the number of customers without power stood at around 700.

SDG&E officials estimate power will be restored Friday at 5 p.m.

Planned outages known as Power outages for public safety were implemented after the National Weather Service issued red flag warnings earlier this week, alerting San Diego County residents of gusty winds and dry conditions. Red Flag Warnings remain in effect until 11 a.m. Friday.

The power outage impAThat’s the case for the Mountain Empire Unified School District, which closed its schools Thursday for a second straight day. The rural East County district cited high winds and the danger they posed to high-profile vehicles like school buses when they canceled classes Wednesday.

Power was cut Wednesday to 341 SDG&E customers in Potrero, 187 customers in Alpine, 18 in Descanso, 18 in the Buckman Springs area and 16 in Jamul. Earlier in the day, power was cut to customers in other East County communities, such as Campo, Boulevard, Jacumba and Live Oak Springs.

SDG&E reported gusty up to 66 mph at 9:50 p.m. Wednesday at Sill Hill near Descanso.

Windy conditions persisted Thursday morning, with the utility’s weather center recording gusts of 41 mph at Hauser Mountain, 38 mph at Lucky Ranch 5 at Anza-Borrego and 34 mph at East Willows Road, off Interstate 8 in Alpine.

The National Weather Service in San Diego predicts high winds will begin to ease by Friday morning, decreasing to around 10 to 15 mph across most of the county.

“Conditions are extremely dry and the relative humidity is down about 10%, which is very, very low,” said Philip Gonsalves, a weather service meteorologist. “Lower relative humidities will continue until late today (Friday), even if winds weaken.”

The recent series of public safety power outages marks the first time since 2021 that SDG&E has used this practice. Lines were deenergized at strategic locations five times in 2018 and 2020 and once in 2021. No outages were instituted in 2022 and 2023, after two consecutive wet winters that helped reduce the risk of fires of forest in the region.

Rural, upcountry communities in the so-called High Fire Threat District are particularly hard hit when their lines are down, as many homes rely on water from electrically powered wells for their houses, their horses and their cattle.

Three community resource centers opened their doors so that customers affected by the outages can stock up on water, purchase snacks, charge their electronic devices and receive the most up-to-date information regarding the outage.

The Boulevard Center is located at 39223 California Route 94, the Descanso Center is located at the Descanso Branch at 9545 River Drive, and the Protrero Center is located at the Potrero Community Center at 24550 California Route 94.

The three centers are open from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Staff writer Christian Martinez contributed to this report.

Originally published: November 7, 2024 at 11:16am PST