As thousands of residents in San Diego County face the hardship of power shutoffs amid gusty winds, frustration mounts in Ramona with over 14,000 customers left in the dark, according to a report by FOX 5 San Diego. SDG&E's preemptive move, aimed at reducing wildfire risk, has sparked questions regarding its necessity, as community members like James Rutledge, a local business owner, find the measure excessive and lacking in clear justification; he notes past instances of strong winds where the power would be cut briefly then restored, but this extended outage is unprecedented in his 12 years living there.
Despite SDG&E's rationale of high wind speeds and dry vegetation, residents have cited the winds in Ramona this time around have been no worse than usual and that they have experienced these Santa Ana conditions before without such severe responses, this according to FOX 5 San Diego. The utility company has pointed to wind gusts exceeding 60 to 70 miles per hour in some parts of their service area but Rutledge argues the extent of the shutdown seems overblown particularly when considering other areas like Campo or Valley Center where the weather conditions are typically more severe.
Local businesses are feeling the pinch of the sustained outage, especially given the timing during the crucial holiday season sales period, CBS 8 San Diego reports. Victoria Bradley, owner of Ramona Family Naturals, expressed the pain of discarding perishable goods, underscoring the human and financial toll the shutoffs have taken. Meanwhile, Tim Connelly, known as the Honorary Mayor of Ramona, has voiced concern over the economic repercussions, highlighting that for Main Street businesses, the recovery from such a financial hit is not akin to flipping a switch.
Amidst the ongoing blackout, a glimmer of community spirit shines through the darkness, as Mark Sitto, a gas station owner, has maintained service and kept prices steady despite the power cut, he's served for almost 40 hours nonstop while residents like Justin have adapted to the situation by using generators to keep essentials running - he told FOX 5 San Diego. SDG&E has established a Community Resource Center at the local library, offering a place to charge phones and obtain ice yet many in the town remain without power, Connelly expressed a hope that SDG&E would devise more sustainable solutions to avoid prolonged outages in future.
The power restoration timeline extends into Friday evening, but many residents, including Bradley, find it hard to fathom the town sustaining such a lengthy period without electricity, per CBS 8 San Diego. With many struggling to understand the scale of the utility company's response, and the consequent disruption to their lives and livelihoods, the call for greater transparency and improved handling of such events by SDG&E remains loud and clear.
