36 LCF Customers Still Without Power, One Week Later

As 36 La Cañada customers remain in the dark, officials announced the windstorm caused about $3.6 million in damage throughout Los Angeles County as of Tuesday - a figure that is expected to increase in upcoming weeks.

It will be weeks until the county finalizes the complete cost, which is expected to rise when structural damages are assessed, Bob Spencer, Chief of Public Affairs for Los Angeles County Public Works, told Patch.

“To date, so far, in the County of Los Angeles, we’re estimating our costs at about $ 3.6 million,” Spencer said. “There’s no doubt about it. That cost will go up.” 

In La Cañada, Public Works crews could be seen around town Wednesday, tinkering with traffic lights. The signals at Chevy Chase Drive and Foothill Boulevard were totally dark, while other intersections, like Angeles Crest Highway and Foothill Boulevard, offered flashing red traffic lights.  

Capt. Dave Silversparre from the reminded people to drive cautiously through intersections without working signals. A flashing signal or a signal sans power requires a full and complete stop, he said.

LCF City Manager Mark Alexander said that as of 2 p.m. Wednesday, 36 La Cañadans still did not have power restoration. During the meeting Monday, Alexander said many families had expressed frustration at a lack of answers from the electric company. Alexander, too, was put out by a lack of timely information from Edison. However, he thanked Edison's Regional Manager Ron Garcia for working with the city on Saturday.

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Also during the meeting, Alexander reminded people to collect tree debris and place it in front of their home for their waste haulers to pick up. Debris scattered about streets slowed restoration efforts, so moving it out of the way will help everyone, he said. 

In all, La Cañada lost 20 trees, with 29 more trees damaged from the winds, but still salvageable.

Spencer pointed out that Public Works crews will continue to clear debris and assess county damages, he said.

“We’re still very much in storm response mode, and it’s going to be some time--weeks in fact--until we are able to clean up all the debris and fully assess damage in the area,” Spencer said. “We’re not just looking at roadways; we’re looking at county facilities.”

Public works initially responded by reopening roads and now focuses on the county flooding system, including channels and debris basins throughout the foothill and San Gabriel communities.

“We’re still in the middle of an active recovery situation,” Spencer said.

It could be several weeks until individual community damage estimates are available, he said.

“We’re going to be continuing this clean up for several weeks,” Spencer said. “Our priority is to look at our flood control system, which will be crucial for the upcoming winter storms.”

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