News Summary
A significant power outage in San Bernardino, California, impacted around 17,000 customers, leading to the closure of 14 schools. The incident occurred when a locomotive struck grid equipment, resulting in power losses starting early in the morning. Although power was restored by noon, schools were closed due to safety concerns and anticipated high temperatures. Traffic conditions were also affected as stoplights were rendered non-functional. Local officials are monitoring the situation to ensure services are maintained without interruptions.
San Bernardino, California experienced a widespread power outage on Tuesday morning, affecting approximately 17,000 customers and resulting in the closure of 14 local schools. The outage was reported around 5 a.m. after a locomotive struck grid equipment, prompting immediate action from utility officials.
Southern California Edison confirmed that power was fully restored by noon on Tuesday, allowing most affected services to return to normal operations. However, the San Bernardino City Unified School District made the decision to close schools for the day due to the outage and expected high temperatures forecast to reach the high 90s and possibly into the triple digits.
The schools that were closed include Chávez, Salinas, Shandin Hills, Kendall Complex, Holcomb, Hillside, North Park, Cajon High School, Palm, Vermont, North Verdemont, Kimbark, Newmark, and Muscoy. The decision to shut down these campuses stemmed not only from the power outage but also a concern for student safety, as many classrooms lack adequate ventilation during high heat periods. Moreover, parents were notified promptly and were asked to pick up their children as soon as possible.
Despite the challenges posed by the power outage, most of the district’s campuses continued operational activities during the outage. St. Bernardine Medical Center reported it was functioning normally, illustrating that essential services maintained their operations even amid the outage.
The incident involved a BNSF locomotive which collided with an Edison transmission line in the rail yard on 4th Street, according to Capt. Shawn Millerick of the San Bernardino County Fire Department. Fortunately, there were no injuries reported as a result of the incident.
Furthermore, the outage impacted traffic conditions in northern San Bernardino, with Sgt. Christopher Gray from the police department noting that stoplights were non-functional due to the loss of power, raising potential traffic safety concerns.
This power outage marks the second consecutive day of school disruptions in the county. Previously, classes were canceled in the Bear Valley Unified School District due to similar issues. Edison’s outage website displayed five individual outages in San Bernardino County, all recorded at 5:08 a.m. However, a spokesperson for the utility company indicated that this may have resulted from a data entry error.
As operations normalize, students and staff are expected to return to their regular routines on Wednesday, as classes for the affected schools are slated to resume. With the ongoing concerns about infrastructure resilience and safety, local officials will likely continue to monitor the area to ensure that essential services are maintained without further interruption.
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Additional Resources
- ABC7 News
- Wikipedia: San Bernardino, California
- San Bernardino Sun
- Google Search: San Bernardino power outage
- NBC Los Angeles
- Encyclopedia Britannica: San Bernardino
- Spectrum News 1
- Google News: San Bernardino school closures
- KTLA News
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