Santa Ana wind gusts are forecast to continue throughout much of Southern California Edison’s service area through Friday. Fortunately for a region that has experienced toppled trees, flying debris and downed power lines for nearly a week, the gusts are not expected to be as intense as those that resulted in power outages for tens of thousands of SCE customers starting last Friday night.

Winds up to 90 mph across parts of the San Gabriel Mountains and foothills, the Santa Ana and Santa Monica mountains caused widespread damage, mostly from downed trees, some as high as 150 feet.

“Driving into the district and seeing the carnage was very ominous,” said Travis Parks, SCE district manager for the Covina District. “We knew there was going to be a wind event, but not to this magnitude.”

Some customers experienced power outages lasting 24 hours or more, as SCE repair crews and contractors battled not only the conditions and multiple districts impacted by the wind event, but also logistical and manpower challenges stemming from COVID-19. Many of the extended power outages were related to downed trees breaking main-line, secondary and service line conductors as well as crossarms and poles. Damage assessments needed to be performed house to house to identify all the destruction.

“It was a tall task to get our resources out there. But it was a beautiful display of teamwork with the contractors and Edison crews alike,” Parks said. “We had people coming from as far as Bishop and Mammoth to help us. All of them worked well together to get the load back up.”

Although winds for the rest of the week are expected to be weaker, gusts are forecast of 35-45 mph in wind-prone and exposed areas of Los Angeles and Ventura counties, the Santa Clarita Valley, the Inland Empire and inland Orange County. Given the weaker nature of this Santa Ana event, SCE does not expect winds to funnel into the foothill communities near the 210 Freeway as they did last weekend.

The utility says it is taking steps to ensure crews are available to respond to outages. SCE understands that extended outages are a hardship for customers and its crews are continuing to work around the clock to restore power as quickly as safety allows.

The latest information about outages is available at SCE.com, on Facebook and Twitter. Call Center representatives also will handle additional customer inquiries during the predicted high-wind conditions.

Customers may report outages at 1-800-611-1911, online or through the SCE Outages app.

Follow these safety tips to prepare your home or business for windstorms.