As the land continues to shift under neighborhoods near the oceanside cliffs of Rancho Palos Verdes, an additional 54 homes will have their power cut off.
The announcement from Southern California Edison came as around 170 other homes in the area were already without power, some indefinitely. That includes about 140 homes in the Portuguese Bend neighborhood that have had both power and gas cut off for safety reasons.
The power will go off at the 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 land movement to decide whether power shutoffs were necessary.
And some area residents will be without cable television and internet, as Cox Communications announced it will be disconnecting service to 146 customers indefinitely in the Portuguese Bend Community Assn. starting Monday.
The decision was made in response to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s state of emergency declaration amid ongoing land movement, the service provider said in a statement.
“We maintained connectivity as long as it was safe to do so, but evolving conditions require us to discontinue service,” the statement said.
The company said it would restore service “as soon as it’s safe for our crews to do so.”
Recently, land in the area has been shifting at unprecedented rates: as much as a foot a week. That’s created increasing challenges for residents, first responders, city officials and utilities, as infrastructure damage and safety concerns escalate.
Late last month, a small fire burned in Portuguese Bend after a power line fell and sparked nearby vegetation. Though the blaze was quickly extinguished, the incident demonstrated the perilous state of things, David Eisenhauer, a SoCal Edison spokesperson, said at the time.
Some in the Portuguese Bend neighborhood have ignored an evacuation warning and stayed in their homes.
At 3 p.m. on 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 followed a sudden gas line break on Exultant Drive in Seaview on Aug. 30, as well as information from new geological hazard surveys.
As of Saturday, Edison had restored power to at least 75 homes in Seaview. Thirty homes in the neighborhood were still without power indefinitely.
The city has made charging stations for cellphones, 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 cellular providers to bring temporary cell facilities to the area.
Residents who want to install a temporary backup generator must apply for a permit and submit plans.