As the earth continues to shift beneath neighborhoods near the coastal cliffs of Rancho Palos Verdes, 54 more homes will be left without power.
Southern California Edison's announcement came as 170 other homes in the area were already without power, some indefinitely. Among them, about 140 homes in the Portuguese Bend neighborhood were left without power and gas for safety reasons.
Power will be cut off to all 54 homes in the Lower Portuguese Bend Club neighborhood starting Monday at 6 p.m.
At a Rancho Palos Verdes City Council meeting earlier this week, Edison officials said they were monitoring the earth movement to decide whether power shutoffs were necessary.
And some area residents will be left without cable TV and Internet, as Cox Communications announced it will disconnect service to 146 customers of the Portuguese Bend Community Association beginning Monday.
Cox Communications did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Recently, land in the area has been shifting at an unprecedented rate – up to 30 centimetres per week. This has created increasing challenges for residents, first responders, city officials and utilities, as infrastructure damage and safety concerns mount.
Late last month, a small fire broke out in Portuguese Bend after a power line fell and ignited nearby vegetation. While the blaze was quickly extinguished, the incident demonstrated the dangerous state of the situation, David Eisenhauer, a spokesman for SoCal Edison, said at the time.
Some residents of the Portuguese Bend neighborhood ignored an evacuation warning and stayed in their homes.
At 3 p.m. Friday, SoCalGas shut off service to 29 homes in the western Seaview neighborhood and 25 homes in the Portuguese Bend Beach Club area.
The utility said the decision came after a sudden gas line break on Exultant Drive in Seaview on Aug. 30, as well as information from new geological hazard studies.
As of Saturday, Edison had restored power to at least 75 homes in Seaview. Thirty homes in the neighborhood remained without power indefinitely.
The city has made charging stations for cell phones, laptops and other electronic devices available at the Ladera Linda Community Center from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. City officials are also coordinating with cell phone providers to bring temporary cellular facilities to the area.
Residents wishing to install a temporary backup generator must apply for a permit and submit plans.
