Fire danger and possible blackouts in California

Red flag warnings of extreme fire danger will go into effect on Thanksgiving for a large swath of Southern California as Santa Ana winds develop, forecasters said Wednesday.

Southern California Edison was considering shutting off electricity to more than 76,000 customers in five counties to prevent wildfires from being ignited by wind damage to power lines.

The Santa Anas will affect the region from northwest of Los Angeles down to the Mexico border through the holiday and into the weekend, with timing and strength depending on location, according to the National Weather Service.

Santa Ana winds blow from the interior toward the coast, creating potentially critical fire conditions with the combination of vegetation-withering low humidity and powerful gusts, especially below mountain passes and canyons.

Common in the fall but possible at other times, the winds have fanned many catastrophic wildfires.

Southern California Edison's public safety power shutoff website showed blackouts were under consideration for about 42,000 customers in San Bernardino County, nearly 16,000 in Los Angeles County, more than 12,000 in Ventura County, 4,400 in Riverside County and about 1,500 in Kern County. The total is about 1.5% of SCE’s 5 million customers.

Linda Likins said the possible blackouts had her worried as she prepared for Thanksgiving at home in Cabazon, in Riverside County.

"How I am going to cook for the day, you know what I mean? What am I suppose to do? I don't have any friends here that live close by."

She added that eating outside is not an option, due to the wind and local conditions.

"Its going to be windy as hell, how are we suppose to eat?  Everything is flying around everywhere, do you know what I mean? Dirt in all your stuff cause there's mad dirt out here."

Cal Fire Captain Fernando Herrera said firefighters that if a fire breaks out over the holiday weekend, firefighters are ready.

"Staffed 24 hours. Meaning those dozer operators, their dozers are loaded on their tractor trailer. And those guys are staying at a fire station. They're sleeping there and they're ready to go."

He also had practical advice for local residents about staying safe when there's a high fire danger.

"Avoid using a turkey fryer in an open area. Avoid doing any type of open type of barbecuing or anything like that that's in the open. And I mean in the open, meaning out in the wilderness, out in an open area, not necessarily in your backyard."

(Image credit: AP)