Santa Ana season is here. Last week, Southern California Edison said it was considering Public Safety Power Shutoffs for several thousand homes and businesses in Los Angeles and Ventura counties as red flag warnings went up for gusty, dry winds. Malibu and other canyon communities have been through these shutoffs before, and they will likely see more of them this fall and winter. If you’re home, an outage is an inconvenience. If you’re not, it’s a string of small problems that nobody notices until they turn into big ones.
What actually stops working. When the power drops in an empty house, the obvious things go first: refrigerators and wine storage, pool and spa pumps, irrigation controllers, and the internet connection your cameras, smart locks and alarm system depend on. Less obvious are the electric gates and garage doors that won’t open for a gardener or a fire crew, sump and ejector pumps on hillside lots, and HVAC systems that don’t always restart cleanly when power comes back. Battery backups on alarms and cameras tend to last hours, not days.
What we check before the wind. For the homes we look after, a red flag warning means a walk-through before the wind arrives. We confirm that the manual releases on gates and garage doors work and that the right people know how to use them. We clear leaves and debris from roofs, gutters, decks and the area right around the house, and we put away cushions, umbrellas and anything else that can blow around or burn. We check that backup batteries are charged, and where an owner has a generator or home battery system, we make sure it has actually been tested recently rather than assumed.
What we check after. Once power is restored, we go back. Breakers get checked, clocks and controllers get reset, pool equipment is confirmed running, and the fridge and freezer are inspected so spoiled food doesn’t turn into a pest problem. We look over the roof, fencing and trees for wind damage and document anything we find with dated photos, because if a claim is ever needed, good records help. What a particular policy covers after an outage or a wind event is a question for your insurance broker, and it’s worth asking before the season rather than in the middle of it.
Make sure someone local gets the alert. Shutoff notices go to the contacts on the utility account, which usually means the owner, wherever in the world they happen to be. SCE’s outage alerts page lets you sign up for notifications by address, so check whether your property manager or caretaker can be added for your home too. That way someone who can actually drive over hears about a shutoff at the same time you do.
A house with nobody in it can’t tell you something is wrong. That’s our job. Own a home you’re not around for? Let’s talk about how we can look after it.
Beautiful Home Property Management | Call or text +1.310.739.7679