A month after having their gas shut off, residents began scrambling Saturday when SoCal Edison announced they would shut off electricity indefinitely for the 135 homes continuously shifting from a Rancho Palos Verdes landslide.
The shut-off is scheduled to start on Sunday, Sept. 1. at 12 p.m.
Mayor John Cruikshank noted to make matters worse, the city’s sewage system runs on electricity. Water sewage cannot be ejected from some homes safely and properly, becoming a sanitation and health issue.
So now, as part of the escalating safety measures, the city of RPV issued an evacuation warning for zones within the affected area. To see if your area is under evacuation warnings, find your zone here: www.pvpready.gov.
“Losing power was a blow, but losing electricity takes this all to a different level,” said Cruikshank.
KTLA’s Angeli Kakade spoke with neighbors on Saturday who said they were frustrated, not necessarily because the power was going off, but because they weren’t given enough time to prepare beforehand.
“The overwhelming sensation when I first read the email from Edison was frustration,” said resident Justin Monzon. He said the announcement came “indefinitely and with no warning to sufficiently prepare.”
Monzon said neighbors have been pleading for help as the landslide has been an increasing problem.
“We know this is a difficult time for Rancho Palos Verdes and we’ve been looking for ways that we can keep the power safely flowing,” said Reggie Kumar, a spokesperson with Southern California Edison. “At this point, land movement in Rancho Palos Verdes has created such a dangerous situation that we must make the difficult decision to disconnect power to 140 residential customers indefinitely.”
Within the days preceding this shut-off, the area suffered from a sewage spill and a fire that further damaged electric equipment, leading to Saturday’s notice.
“Recently, a fire near Narcissa Drive demonstrated that we cannot mitigate the public safety risk from the land movement in the area we are disconnecting,” added Kumar. “Since the accelerated land movement continues to damage our electric equipment, we need to turn off power to keep the public safe.”
Despite the warning and offers for alternative housing, Monzon said he doesn’t plan on evacuating.
“My son loves insects and birds and reptiles, and anything that he can get his hands on,” he said. “I would like to stay in our home.”
Cruikshank is holding an emergency meeting on the situation before a regularly scheduled City Council meeting on Tuesday.
In the meantime, impacted residents in need of emergency assistance can make their way to the Ladera Linda Community Center beginning Sunday at 11 a.m.
City officials recommend evacuated residents bring along all important documents such as utility bills, birth certificates, etc. along with a photo documentation of your home for insurance purposes and any needed medications.