Emergency power generators save Rancho Palos Verdes amid landslide crisis, SoCal Edison power outage

RANCHO PALOS VERDES, Calif. (KABC) — After power was shut off to 140 homes in Rancho Palos Verdes on Sunday, residents of another 105 homes were told they too would be without power starting Monday.

According to Southern California Edison, the outages are the result of shifting terrain that poses a hazard to nearby electrical equipment.

“We have another 105 customers notified that their power will be shut off starting (Monday) evening,” said Reggie Kumar, spokesman for SoCal Edison. “This is again due to accelerated land movement causing damage to our electrical equipment and we need to turn off power to keep everyone safe.”

The new closures in the Seaview neighborhood will begin at approximately 7 p.m. Monday.

Most of these will be temporarily disconnected – 47 of them for just 24 hours and another 38 for 1-3 weeks, while repair and diversion work is underway. But around 20 – in the part of Seaview that suffered the most damage – will be without power “indefinitely”.

“It’s just mind-boggling,” said one resident. “It doesn’t feel legal.”

Earlier Sunday, residents of about 140 homes in Rancho Palos Verdes were issued an evacuation notice after Edison shut off power to the area. However, thanks to the presence of backup generators, they did not need to be evacuated immediately.

The closure Sunday afternoon in the Portuguese community of Bend came after landslides spread across 680 hectares following heavy rains in the spring of 2023, causing damage to homes, roads and utilities.

“There is no playbook for an emergency like this,” County Supervisor Janice Hahn, who represents the area, said at a news conference Sunday. “… We are sparing no expense. … This is bigger than Rancho Palos Verdes. This land movement is so massive and so damaging that one city should not have to bear the burden alone.”

Hahn reiterated her call for Gov. Gavin Newsom to personally visit the area and said she had pledged another $5 million in county funds to respond to the disaster.

An emergency response center will be open Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Ladera Linda Community Center at 32201 Forrestal Drive. City and other agency officials will be available to answer questions about the current emergency, discounted hotel rates, relocating pets and animals, mental health counseling, emergency preparedness and other needs.

The affected areas for the power outage can be found here . Officials said residents can also check here or on the genasys Protect app to see if they are in the evacuation zone.

Authorities on Sunday reiterated that residents of the affected area should be prepared to leave as soon as possible.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said he authorized the use of drones to protect against potential criminal activity targeting the homes of residents seeking to leave the area.

The utility announced the closure on Saturday.

The city of Rancho Palos Verdes said Saturday: “SCE has determined that there is a public safety hazard. Electric service will be shut off in these zones beginning Sunday, September 1 at 12 p.m. PST. DO NOT USE WATER OR PLUMBING AFTER POWER IS TURNED OFF — THIS COULD RESULT IN A SEWER LEAK. All persons in these zones should prepare to evacuate and seek alternate housing. Pack important documents, medications and essential items. Make arrangements for pets and animals.”

The power outage is the latest development in an ongoing land-displacement crisis that began more than a year ago, after heavy rains hit the area beginning in the spring of 2023. The landslides damaged roads and left two homes red-flagged that were damaged enough to be inhabited, with officials later declaring a local emergency.

The movement of the land caused water and gas pipes to break, sewage pipes to shift and electricity poles to become tilted.

Despite protests from residents and city officials, Southern California Gas Co. on July 29 cut off natural gas service to 135 homes in the city’s Portuguese Bend neighborhood over concerns about the land deal.

Residents spent the first weekend after the gas shutoff trying to find alternatives to propane and electricity so they could stay in their homes. Authorities did not issue evacuation orders at the time because no gas leaks were detected.

According to gas company officials, “significant land movement continues to occur in the area, damaging roads and homes and further compromising the safety of SoCalGas’ infrastructure.”

The city had warned residents that Southern California Edison officials had said they might turn off power in the future if conditions warranted it.

On Aug. 28, officials said that land movement the previous weekend had caused a sewage spill of about 10,000 gallons on private property along Palos Verdes Drive South at Narcissa Drive. The Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts, the agency that operates the main sewers that carry wastewater out of the Palos Verdes Peninsula, responded to stop the spill and make emergency repairs.

The city understands that this incident was the first significant breach in LACSD’s infrastructure due to ongoing land movement,” a statement from the city said. “We continue to work closely with LACSD to expedite permitting for repair work, if needed, and to attempt to install an above-ground bypass sewer pipe along Palos Verdes Drive South.”

Officials added that the incident “underscored the urgent need to slow the land movement and prevent a major sewer outage, which would have far-reaching consequences for the entire peninsula.”

City News Service contributed to this report.