This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.

Southern California Edison said it could shut off power for about 12,000 customers in San Bernardino, Riverside, Kern, Inyo and Mono counties as forecasters warned of critical fire weather that’s expected later this week.

The move, aimed at preventing wildfires, could affect the following areas, the utility’s website said on Monday:

  • Riverside County (about 110 customers)
    • unincorporated communities including Whitewater and Bonnie Bell
  • San Bernardino County (about 6 customers)
    • Big Bear
    • incorporated communities including Doble and Upper Holcomb Valley
  • Kern County (about 1,240 customers)
    • unincorporated areas including Kernville, Wofford Heights, Lake Isabella, Camp Owens
  • Inyo County (about 6 customers)
    • unincorporated areas near Bishop including the community of Round Valley
  • Mono County (about 10,600 customers)
    • unincorporated areas near Bishop including the community of Paradise and portion of Swall Meadows
    • unincorporated areas including Mammoth Lakes, Mammoth Lakes-Trails, June Lake Village and Loop, Crestview, Mono Lake, Mono City, North Conway, Willow Springs, Bridgeport

Forecasters say Southern California will have several days of Santa Ana winds this week and that could create critical fire weather conditions.

The National Weather Service says Santa Anas will develop by early Thursday and continue through Friday, bringing warming and very dry conditions back to the region.

The northeast winds are expected to be moderate to locally strong across Ventura and Los Angeles counties but weaker in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties.

In the inland region, moderate-strength Santa Anas are expected Thursday, with weakening on Friday and becoming localized on Saturday.

The winds will cause humidity to plummet in inland areas later in the week, which will allow any fires that do ignite to spread quickly, according to NWS.

The forecast calls for onshore flow to return to the area Sunday with noticeable cooling.

In a decision described as unprecedented, Pacific Gas & Electric warned that it could cut off electricity for nearly 30 counties in Northern and Central California.