Thousands of outages considered as Santa Ana winds rip through Southern California

Officials are considering Power Safety Shutoffs for more than 170,000 customers Monday morning as gusty Santa Ana winds blow through Southern California, increasing concerns for wildfires.

"Strong and locally damaging Santa Ana winds are expected this week, through Monday, and again Wednesday and Thursday," the National Weather Service stated in its forecast.

Northeast wind gusts could reach 80 mph in some mountain locations and up to 55 mph through the coasts and valleys, according to the Weather Service.

Officials urged motorists to be on the lookout for downed trees and power lines, and warned of strong crosswinds for high-profile vehicles.

The dangerous conditions have Southern California Edison considering thousands of power safety shutoffs.

“We will consider public safety power shutoffs as a tool of last resort to protect the public from that increased risk of wildfire,” SCE spokesperson Gabriela Ornelas said.

As of 5:45 a.m., no shutoffs were reported but the following areas remained under consideration:

• Los Angeles County: 35,713 customers
• Orange County: 8,154 customers
• Riverside County: 38,174 customers
• San Bernardino County: 50,277 customers
• Ventura County: 38,011 customers

Wind advisories are in place across parts of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties into Monday afternoon. 

Red flag warnings are also in place for parts of Los Angeles, Ventura and the Inland Empire through Monday afternoon.

Officials are concerned that the combination of gusty winds, critically dry vegetation and low humidity levels could lead to rapid growth if a wildfire should ignite.

Even stronger and more widespread Santa Ana winds are expected to hit the region Wednesday and Thursday, according to the Weather Service.