A landslide is forcing officials to cut power to numerous residences in a Southern California town due to wildfire concerns.
Last week, shifting land caused electrical equipment to spark a fire in the town of Rancho Palos Verdes. After lines fell in the area, officials decided to cut power to a 193-acre area.
On Monday, officials said that over 100 homes would have their power cut for at least 24 hours. Among those properties, 38 would have their power shut off for one to three weeks, and another 20 properties would have an indefinite power disruption.
Residents were informed over the weekend of the decision to cut power.
"SCE has seen a significant increase in the number of repairs needed to keep the power on safely, and we are unable to effectively monitor the situation because of the land movement in the area," a letter from Southern California Edison read.
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Southern California Edison has warned residents since late July of the possibility of power disruptions due to shifting land. The power company then said that last week's fire "demonstrates that the company cannot mitigate the public safety risk from land movement in this area. SCE must now de-energize some customers indefinitely to avoid the risk of utility equipment igniting a wildfire."
Conditions have slowly worsened in recent months. Earlier in the year, officials cut natural gas service to many residences due to shifting land.
Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn said she would like California Gov. Gavin Newsom to come to the city and declare an emergency.
"I think if he came here and saw the buckling streets, the buildings sinking and cracking apart and now 140 families forced to leave their homes because it is unsafe for them to have the basic services we all depend on — power, gas, sewer — I think he would understand the urgency of this request. Yes, this landslide has been moving for decades, but this acceleration that's happening currently is beyond what any of us could have foretold and demands more response from the state government and the federal government." Hahn said.
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