As of Wednesday morning, 25,585 SoCal Edison customers were without power due to a Power Safety Shutoff, as were 23,305 San Bernardino County customers, according to SoCal Edison. Another 180,000 SoCal Edison customers across the Inland Empire were under a Power Safety Shutoff consideration.

Fires and spot fires ignited overnight, burning in Anza, Mentone, and Coachella, according to fire officials. Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department personnel stopped the forward progress of a vegetation fire in Anza Wednesday that threatened nearby structures.

The Anza blaze was first reported about 4:45 a.m. as a four-acre fire in the 54000 block of Highway 371, accompanied by strong winds, according to a department statement.

Crews were able to stop the fire’s expansion within three hours, committing to remain on the scene for an additional four hours for mop-up, the department said.

Highway 371 was closed between Bahrman Road and Cahuilla Casino, but no injuries were reported and no evacuations were ordered.

In Mentone, as of 6 a.m., a single-story commercial structure ignited on the 2100 block of Mentone Boulevard, according to a San Bernardino County Fire Department. They said arriving firefighters quickly transitioned from an offensive fire attack to a defensive attack as the roof collapsed.

Firefighters from the Redlands Fire Department are assisting firefighters in watching the surrounding neighborhoods for ember-sparked blazes caused by gusting Santa Ana winds.

As of 10 a.m., the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said there are “no active fires reported in San Bernardino County. High winds can increase fire danger and pose risks such as downed power lines or flying debris. Please remain vigilant.”

Two homes were lost in Coachella early Wednesday, Cal Fire/Riverside County Firefighters said.

The vegetation fire was 50% contained, fire authorities said, and was initially reported to be burning 15 acres around 3:24 a.m. in the 47100 block of Tyler Street.

Deputies from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department evacuated affected residents with threatened structures. In an update at 7:30 a.m., the fire department noted the fire had been reduced to 11 acres and the forward progress had been stopped.

The American Red Cross Southern California region was requested for assistance.
No roads had been reported closed and no injuries were reported, according to the fire department.

Cal Fire released a statement indicating that engine and hand crews are transferring from stations in Northern California to the Inland Empire to help attack and spot fires as they occur. This is a massive task in the face of an intense Santa Ana windstorm.

Additional firefighting resources will be deployed Wednesday throughout Riverside County for the remainder of the week.

“When fire conditions end, restoration is expected to take up to 8 hours but could take longer if we need daylight for safe inspections or if we find damage,” a SoCal Edison spokesperson said. “The shutoff maps will reflect “power off” until all customers on your circuit segment have had their power restored.”

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SAN DIEGO, CA — Following last week’s lithium battery fire resulting in evacuation orders and warnings at a San Diego Gas & Electric battery storage facility in Escondido, the County Board of Supervisors will consider putting a pause on future such facilities.

The action in front of the supervisors on Wednesday will present several options to the board. The body can request additional fire suppression technical reports and/or include new disclosure requirements to make any new battery energy storage systems go “above and beyond” current code requirements.

Additionally, they will have the choice to put a temporary moratorium on the acceptance of new BESS applications or adopt an urgency ordinance requiring new facilities to use modular designs and follow National Fire Protection Association guidelines.

The item was already scheduled for the board but gained more urgency following the Thursday afternoon fire at the SDG&E facility. The fire was allowed to burn out by itself — per industry standard, a statement from the Escondido Fire Department read.

Just one of the site’s 24 cells caught fire.

While no one was injured by the fire, evacuation orders were issued to businesses in the largely industrial part of the city.

The moratorium the supervisors will discuss couldn’t come any sooner, some residents say.

“Area residents are renewing their call for the county to issue a moratorium on building new lithium battery storage facilities in neighborhoods,” reads a statement from a group of citizens, including JP Theberge of the Elfin Forest Harmony Grove Town Council and Joe Rowley, a retired engineer and battery storage facility developer.

“The Escondido battery fire is unfolding in an industrial area away from homes and residences. However, it reinforces the concerns of residents that a project that is 10 times larger (the Seguro project) is being proposed, which would be surrounded by hundreds of homes and upwind from a hospital in northern San Diego County, near Escondido,” they write. “Despite the current fire being in an industrial area, hundreds of businesses were evacuated and many more were told to shelter-in-place. Schools located downwind were closed today as well.”

Should the supervisors elect the moratorium route, it could freeze the proposed AES’ Seguro storage project in Escondido, not far from where Thursday’s fire took place. This project would be capable of storing up to 320 megawatts or 1,280 megawatt hours worth of energy — several times larger than the facility where the fire continues to burn.

Without the BESS facilities, the county could have a difficult time meeting its climate goals.

The battery storage facilities are a component of the county’s respond to green energy, storing energy from renewable sources such as solar or wind to use as needed. They are intended as an alternative or at least a supplement to fossil fuel energies such as natural gas and oil.

Since 2021, there have been 45 fires at similar BESS facilities, including one at the Otay Mesa battery storage earlier this year and one in Valley Center last year.

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Soboba Fire Station No. 1 opened its doors and shared information with Soboba Tribal Preschool kindergartners and Pre-K students on Oct. 11 as part of Fire Prevention Month. The goal of the national event is to raise awareness about fire safety and help ensure kids know what to do in the event of an emergency.

The 43 children were divided into four groups that rotated between visiting the living quarters, learning about why firefighters wear certain gear, getting to use the fire hose and seeing the inside and outside of two fire trucks that were available. A third truck was away assisting with a fire.

The department’s newest truck was put into service in September. It is a Pierce 107-foot Ascendant heavy-duty Tiller Ladder Truck that has a 1,500-gallon per minute Waterous mid-ship pump and a 300-gallon water tank.

“This is the only ladder truck staffed full time 24/7 in the San Jacinto Valley,” Soboba Fire Chief Glenn Patterson said.

He added that all Soboba Fire personnel have been trained to use this apparatus, which included more than 100 hours of classroom instruction, practical lessons and hands-on tactical training for each firefighter. Patterson said firefighting efforts at numerous buildings in the area would require this type of truck, such as the Soboba Casino Resort hotel, Soboba Tribal Administration, Hemet Valley Medical Center and multi-story apartments, retirement homes and motels.

“We also upgraded the truck with Fire Research Corp scene lighting to increase firefighter safety at night and during heavy smoke conditions,” Patterson said.

At the firehouse, the crew did its part to help teach and reinforce lessons the students were learning in their classrooms all week long.

“Call 9-1-1, don’t run, don’t hide,” most of the kids shouted back when Captain Howard Maxcy Jr. asked them what to do if they see flames or smell smoke.

Firefighter Glenn Lindsey was suited up so the children would know not to fear similarly dressed firefighters in the event they ever encounter one in their home. Maxcy described each part of the uniform and all the tools that were attached. He showed the kids how a hand-held thermal energy camera can help rescuers find people when visibility is obliterated by heavy smoke.

“We are the only fire station in Southern California who has a thermal energy camera incorporated into our masks – all 21 of them,” said Maxcy, who has been a firefighter for more than 20 years. “It’s one of the things we thought was important to have. We’re lucky to have frontline equipment like this and our new ladder truck.”

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Engineer Rob Cisneros gave the grand tour of the living quarters and explained that most of the movies shown on the big screen television were training films so they could learn how to be even better firefighters. He also told the kids that firefighters are always learning even after they complete the fire academy and paramedic school.

Students in all grades spent the week incorporating fire safety into their curriculum as they learned key words and the importance of dialing 9-1-1 if they see a fire. Lessons in math, colors and reading all had a firefighting theme.

“We’ve been doing the ‘stop, drop and roll’ drills with them all week,” said Ana Garcia, who teaches the three-year-old students. “We did art projects to help them identify parts of the trucks and equipment and we read lots of books about firemen and what they do.”

A visit to the preschool by the department for the younger children (two- and three-year-olds) earlier in the week was delayed when the crew had to respond to an emergency call.

Clementine Swan wore an authentic miniature firefighter uniform to school and teacher Amanda Vallin said she brought another one to share with her classmates.

“All week we’ve been talking about community helpers and firefighters; our letter of the week was F,” said Vallin, who has been at the school for three years.

Lindsey said he’s known many of the preschoolers since they were babies, being a Soboba tribal member himself. He said he likes being able to show them what he does and hopes they look to him as a role model and will want to become firefighters someday.

“It’s good for us to give back and let them see what we do out here,” he said. “It also helps them feel comfortable if we have to go out to a fire. A lot of them recognize me so they know they can trust firefighters.”

After returning to campus to eat lunch, the children were still exhibiting signs of excitement from their field trip, all raising their hands when asked who had fun.

“I liked doing the water hose,” said Tulóvat Temanxwanvish, 5. Takoda Nunez liked the ladder truck best and Atreyu Valenzuella liked “all of it.”

Muukumikat Gonzalez enjoyed trying the fire hose, too, but added that he also had fun exploring the giant trucks and “checking everything out.”

“I learned that I have to go to school to learn about being a firefighter,” five-year-old kindergartner Kali Valenzuela said.

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