With hot and windy weather expected during the coming week, Southern California Edison will be monitoring for possible public safety power shutoffs (PSPS) for parts of Santa Barbara County’s South Coast.
The period of potential shutoffs, which are intended to reduce the risk of wildfire during dangerous weather conditions, is from 7 p.m. Monday until 1 a.m. Wednesday, according to the SCE website.
Daytime high temperatures are expected in the 80s on Monday, then rising to the 90s on Tuesday and Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service in Oxnard.
Highs could approach triple digits Tuesday.
SCE reported on Monday that 5,160 customers are under consideration for PSPS.
Affected locations include most of the Gaviota coast and canyons west of Goleta; the foothill and mountain areas above eastern Goleta; portions of Santa Barbara’s Eastside and Riviera neighborhoods; and parts of Montecito.
Click here for SCE’s potential outage map.
In the event of power shutoffs, community resource centers will be set up by Edison at the Independent Living Resource Center, 423 W. Victoria St. in Santa Barbara, and at the Residence Inn, 6350 Hollister Ave. in Goleta.
Hours of operation will be from noon to 10 p.m. on Monday and 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Tuesday.
Affected residents will be able to charge up their phones and other mobile devices, and have access to water and light snacks, and where available, access to restrooms and Wi-Fi.
On Sunday afternoon, the weather service issued a red flag warning for dangerous fire weather conditions for the South Coast and mountain areas.
The warning will be in effect from 6 p.m. Monday until 6 a.m. Wednesday.
“A Red Flag Warning means that critical fire weather conditions are either occurring now….or will shortly,” according to the NWS notice. “A combination of strong winds and low relative humidity can contribute to extreme fire behavior. Use extreme caution with potential fire ignition sources.”
A wind advisory and excessive heat watch also have been issued.
Winds of 20-30 mph are in the forecast, with isolated gusts to 60 mph expected.
A gradual cool-down is expected by the end of the week.
Click here for the latest forecast from the National Weather Service.
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— Noozhawk executive editor Tom Bolton can be reached at tbolton@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.