East County residents experience another day of planned power outages

SAN DIEGO (KUSI) – Another day of outages meant another day of inconvenience for residents and a much more serious issue for business owners:  Lost income.

If wildfires are California’s new norm, planned power shutoffs to thousands and in the case of North California, millions, is the new norm too. We can tell you the story of safety, inconvenience and lost business at one location:  Alpine’s Tavern Road at the 8.

It’s a major intersection that was dark, not even blinking red lights.  Extra caution here; drivers not paying attention and running what should have been a four-way stop.  Nearby,  yellow tape for the second day in a row.  No gas, no convenience store.  No income.  If this had been yesterday, we could have said the same for the Shell station across the street.  But the owner opted not lose another day of business and rented a generator.

Drivers scrambling to find an open station were grateful.  It also meant food and drinks, including breakfast for the Whillock family.  If only the store had had a shower room.  Kryssy Whillock is a mother of three.  She told us, “I had to go to my girlfriend’s house to take a shower.  She (daughter) needed one after ballet, the boys after soccer.  We had to go to my mother-in-law’s house in El Cajon.”

But the issue also called attention to making sure your gas tank is filled before a shutoff.  And the fact you might not have a cell phone for a while. We talked to another customer who hadn’t had service since last night.