Nearly 5,000 remain without power from storm-related outages, DWP says
About 4,800 Los Angeles Department of Water and Power customers remained without power late Sunday as storm-related outages persisted across Southern California.
The DWP said the outages were spread across the city. More than 1,500 were without power in Watts, 760 in Lake Balboa, 360 in Winnetka and 655 in Palms. The outages affected a small fraction of the utility’s 1.5 million customers.
The outages were greatly reduced from Friday afternoon, when more than 85,000 customers were without power at the peak of the storm.
Crews would work through Sunday night to continue repairing equipment and restoring service, prioritizing those who have gone the longest without power, said Joseph Ramallo, a DWP spokesman.
Kimberley Hughes, a DWP spokeswoman, said most customers had their power restored within 12 to 24 hours but some outages lasted more than a day because of “the severity of damage” from the storm.
The round-the-clock repair effort comes as another storm approaches the Southland.
The National Weather Service said light rain was expected to arrive in Los Angeles County after midnight and continue through Monday morning.
Heavier rainfall is expected in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties, where the storm will dump up to 2 inches through Tuesday. In Ventura and Los Angeles counties, the total rainfall was not expected to exceed 1 inch, according to the National Weather Service.
The most common cause of outages were downed trees, tree branches and palm fronds, all of which can interfere with power lines when falling, officials said.
On Friday, a 55-year-old man was shocked and killed by a downed power line at Sepulveda and Burbank boulevards in Sherman Oaks.
As of 10 p.m., Southern California Edison had more than 260 customers without electricity in Los Angeles County and nearly 190 without power in Orange County, according to the utility’s website.
Twitter: @MattHjourno
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