Southern California Edison has issued a reminder to customers that the Gap Fire burning in Santa Barbara County could cause extended power outages and urges customers to prepare for that possibility.
It is critical that all SCE customers in Santa Barbara County — which includes the cities of Santa Barbara, Goleta, Carpinteria, Summerland, Montecito, Isla Vista and Gaviota — conserve electricity around the clock. Conservation can help provide power to more customers in the area.
Customers first lost power Wednesday night and since then have lost service several times when smoke and ash from the wildfire affected transmission lines, causing the outages.
SCE personnel are making repairs in the area and continue to stand by in case of additional outages.
The SEC offers these conservation tips:
» Plasma TVs are large users of electricity and use almost as much power off as they do on. If you have a traditional television in addition to a plasma TV, use that one instead and unplug the plasma TV.
» Turn off all unnecessary lights.
» Avoid using dishwashers, washing machines and dryers as much as possible. If they must be used, use them in daytime or early evening hours.
» Central air conditioning uses a great deal of electricity. Keep the temperature at 78 degrees or higher.
» Replace regular bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs.