The recent series of Santa Ana winds over the past week have resulted in multiple power outages for some San Diego Gas & Electric customers — especially residents in backcountry and East County areas. The shutoffs can last for hours and even for multiple days, in some cases. Adding to the frustration? Some residents complain they don’t have any power but they see neighbors just a few blocks away who still have electricity. What gives? In a recent interview, SDG&E’s vice president of wildfire and climate science, Brian D’Agostino, offered some explanations. The outages are called Public Safety Power Shutoffs. It’s a practice that utilities in California use to pre-emptively de-energize circuits when the combination of high winds and extremely dry conditions elevate the risk that power lines could fall to the ground and ignite a wildfire. “We’re aware of the real impacts these (shutoffs) have on customers and we don’t take that lightly,” D’Agostino said. During adverse weather conditions, backcountry areas are prone to have electricity cut because they are often located in or around wind corridors. For example, Sill Hill in the Cleveland National Forest is a location where SDG&E’s network of 222 weather stations reports wind speeds of 70 mph and higher when Santa Anas blow through. Related Articles Energy | SDG&E to pay $2.6M for mistakenly booting customers from discounted bill programs Energy | No heat, no water, no school: In rural San Diego County, power shutoffs pose their own public safety risks Energy | SDG&E restores power to customers — but another round of outages loom as Santa Ana winds continue Energy | Forecasters urge preparations for stronger wave of Santa Anas in San Diego County as fires ravage L.A. Energy | Soaring electricity bills could hobble California’s green energy push, report says Rural communities in High Fire Threat Districts are particularly affected when the power goes out because many residents rely on water from wells powered by electricity for their homes, horses and livestock. As a result, many backcountry homeowners purchase diesel-powered generators as backup sources of electricity. More than 60% of SDG&E’s system territory is located in High Fire Threat Districts. SDG&E officials say when a Public Safety Power Shutoff is used, they strategically turn off specific circuits. But how can one area have no electricity while homes in a nearby community still have their lights on? D’Agostino told the Union-Tribune last month that power lines traverse areas where risky fire conditions are located. “A lot of times, the power for a neighborhood is not generated right in that particular neighborhood,” he said. “It can be generated three miles away, five miles away.” As a result, the circuit that is shut down may be “impacting the power lines that are feeding your neighborhood” and that’s why some customers may have no electricity, even if there is practically no wind blowing on their block. “That’s something that, unfortunately, we see in these large, wide-scale events” related to the recent spate of Santa Anas, D’Agostino said. Rosa Hidalgo (right), general manager of a Shell convenience store in Jacumba, works in the dark during a power shutoff in the community on Jan. 6. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / The San Diego Union-Tribune) Once high winds subside, crews go into affected areas to patrol and inspect power lines. It’s not a matter of simply flipping a switch back on because if damage is found, repairs have to be made. It’s often difficult to predict how long it will take to restore power, depending on factors such as the length of the power line, the terrain and whether aerial inspections are needed. In 2018, SDG&E became the first investor-owned utility in California to deploy pre-emptive power shutoffs. It has enacted 18 since. SDG&E enacted no shutoffs in 2022 and 2023, after two consecutive wet winters helped reduce the risk of wildfires in the region. But that’s not been the story this winter. The San Diego International Airport has recorded only 0.14 inches of precipitation since October — the driest start to the rainy season since 1850 — which has dried out vegetation across the region and increased the potential for fire. Since the deadly 2007 Witch, Guejito and Rice wildfires, SDG&E has spent about $6 billion in ratepayer funds on programs to prevent a repeat of similar fires. Another round of Santa Anas is expected to barrel through San Diego County through next week. In the wake of the devastating fires in Pacific Palisades, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power has been criticized  for not instituting pre-emptive power shutoffs. However, the cause of the Palisades fire is still to be determined and it’s not known if utility equipment had any role in igniting it.