LAKE ISABELLA, Calif. (KERO) — Gas stations, grocery stores, and just about any place you can think of in the Kern River Valley are without power, as a large swath of the area falls under a public safety power shutoff.
Throughout the day, 23ABC witnessed several people in the Kern River Valley pull into businesses only to turn around when they realized the power was out there as well.
23ABC met Michael Sides, who didn't hold back once he realized he was unable to get gas on Friday afternoon.
"It's frustrating," said Sides. "I feel, what do you call it, down."
The prospect of a community without power was confusing to some visitors, like Phil Ruff, who was driving through the community on the way to Pinnacles National Park.
"A town with no power, which we've never run across that before in our lives," Ruff said.
According to both the Southern California Edison and Pacific Gas and Electric outage pages, public safety power shutoffs are in place across many areas of Kern County, including Tehachapi, east of Bakersfield and south of Arvin.
Jeff Smith, a spokesperson for PG&E, said gusty winds, dry conditions, and above-average temperatures are making the area ripe for fire activity, and the shutoff is done to limit the possibility of a wildfire starting.
"We want to keep as many customers restored as we possibly can, while also eliminating the hazard to the degree that we can. And so it's a delicate balance. And we're really looking for those areas where we're seeing, you know, those pockets of wind with the dry vegetation," Smith said.
Looking at the Edison outage page, areas in the Kern River Valley and Tehachapi are expected to see power return on Saturday. While it's an extended layoff without electricity, David Eisenhauer said the reason for it is to ensure there are no issues when they re-energize the area.
"Once the wind subsides and the conditions are better, it's still going to be a little bit of time before power comes back on because we have to patrol the entire circuit before we can turn it back on to make sure there's no damage on it," Eisenhauer said.
Information about public safety power shutoffs around Kern County can be found on the Southern California Edison and Pacific Gas and Electric outage maps.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
Stay in Touch with Us Anytime, Anywhere:
