Tracy LaRosa was caught off guard when her power disappeared.
She and her neighbors in Lake Hughes, a rural, high-desert community in unincorporated Los Angeles County, had never experienced a public safety power shutoff (PSPS). But on Aug. 11, Southern California Edison determined that the fire risk in the region was so severe that it needed to turn off its power lines to prevent a possible spark.
LaRosa’s power went out that Monday, returned for a few hours on Tuesday, and then went dark once more until Thursday evening. She used her backup generator, but it couldn’t power her home’s cooling unit.
“We were just miserable,” said LaRosa, who is the president of a community advocacy organization, Lakes Town Council. Her neighbors without generators had it even worse.
