Thousands Without Power in Kern County

Almost 5,300 customers are without power in Kern County Thursday, as the statewide Public Safety Power Shutoff takes holdAll but 33 of the outages are with Southern California Edison. The remainder are PG&E customers. This as SCE cut power to 15,000 Southern California customers as gusty Santa Ana winds sweep parts of the region and raise the risk of wildfires.

The utility is also considering additional power cuts Thursday to more than 286,000 customers to prevent wildfires ignited by downed lines or branches blown into them.

The moves came as a fire rages in the wine country of Northern California’s Sonoma County that has destroyed at least three homes and prompted the evacuation of the small community of Geyserville.

At least two fires have erupted in Southern California but they have remained small.