First responders had a busy Thursday thanks to constant wind gusts forecast by a Red Flag Warning that pummeled the Santa Clarita Valley with high-velocity winds, bringing down dozens of trees and contributing to hours of gridlock on local freeways.  As of about 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, there were 83 outages listed on the Southern California Edison website for its service area in Los Angeles County, with 1,140 more outages listed as “scheduled” and more than 58,000 customers listed as impacted.  Residents have taken to social media over the past 24 hours to post their frustrations over SoCal Edison’s Public Safety Power Shutoff program and the uncertainty surrounding who has power and when.   City workers place stop signs due to the power outage at the intersection of Needham Ranch Parkway and Sierra Highway Thursday morning. Habeba Mostafa/ The Signal When contacted by phone Thursday over the shutoffs, SoCal Edison officials referred to the online outage center, which gives a 27-hour time range for potential shutoffs in the “Santa Clarita” listing on its map, which only added to the confusion.  “The wind blew like hell, and we never lost power,” said Michael Lickliter, a Canyon Country resident who lives off Camp Plenty Road near Canyon High. Where his daughter lived, near Sierra Highway and Skyline Ranch Road, the wind was relatively quiet by Thursday afternoon, he said.  However, her power had been off since 4 a.m. and had been for the past 27 hours, he added, calling the situation “ridiculous.”  He said the only information they received on the outages came from The Signal, which indicated the power would be on by 6 p.m. That deadline had been extended to 9 p.m. as of noon Thursday, according to the Outage Center map on SoCal Edison’s website.  National Weather Service officials, who are based in Oxnard, were not immediately available Thursday via their media line to confirm how hard the winds blew Thursday.   City workers place stop signs due to the power outage at the intersection of Needham Ranch Parkway and Sierra Highway Thursday morning. Habeba Mostafa/ The Signal The L.A. County Sheriff’s Department sent out an alert via social media Tuesday stating winds could gust as high as 100 mph during the two-day wind event. The National Weather Service expected regular winds in the 50 to 70 mph range, particularly for the mountain areas of the SCV.  A recorded forecast for the Interstate 5 corridor from the Newhall to Tejon passes said wind gusts were currently around 15 to 25 mph, with gusts up to 35 mph.   The Sierra Highway intersection Lickliter mentioned was one of dozens being worked on by Santa Clarita Public Works employees, with the city’s Communications Office posting updates for traffic alerts on social media.   A city social media post noted work at three traffic lights along Sierra Highway, including American Beauty Drive/Avalon Drive and Needham Ranch Parkway.   “Please avoid the areas and use alternate routes, if possible,” the post noted. “Please slow down and drive with caution. Expect updates to follow as crews are currently working to fix the problem.”  Carrie Lujan, communications manager for the city, reminded residents that flashing lights at an intersection means it should be treated as a stop sign, which had happened at several intersections impacted by the outages.   She also confirmed that by noon Thursday, there had already been 40 separate incidents of failed trees or significant tree branches in the roadway reported. She added that she did not have any reports of significant injuries or crashes caused by the branches.  Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station Deputy Villalobos shared a similar caution about speed on the roadway as numerous deputies were called on to assist in traffic control Thursday afternoon.  Carlos Burgos-Lopez, spokesman for the California Highway Patrol Newhall Area Office, said Thursday afternoon that the wind hadn’t had a significant impact on the freeways so far. He added ongoing construction and the response to a fire west of Interstate 5, near Frenchman’s Flat, could be factors for afternoon commuters.  Significant winds were not in the forecast for Friday as of the National Weather Service forecast Thursday afternoon.   ,  The post Winds pummel SCV during Red Flag Warning   appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.