Borrego Sun - Since 1949

A strong wind storm hit parts of San Diego County, leaving many drenched in rain and debris causing severe damages to many homes and businesses.

In Borrego Springs, the strong winds pushed through the area on Jan. 10, leaving the town with no power for over 24 hours and damage to their homes.

With winds notching in at over 60 mph and power lines down in Borrego, it caused a power outage for San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) customers. The power was eventually restored in some areas of Borrego the next day at around 7 p.m., while for many as late as Jan. 12. Restoration times differed for each impacted circuit. The times of restoration continued to change throughout the day, leaving many on the edge of restoration. Estimated restoration times were listed between 9:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m., then 3 p.m., and eventually 7 p.m.

At least one gust reached 68 miles per hour at 2:55 a.m., according to the National Weather Service.

The earliest outage was reported around 4:19 a.m. in the Borrego Springs, Shelter Valley and Canebrake areas. As of 7:45 a.m., over 2,700 customers were still without power in these areas, according to SDG&E’s outage map.

Over 100 outages were also reported around 6:27 a.m. in the area of Julian, Santa Ysabel, and Morettis. Around that same time, North County’s Vista also experienced an outage with around 100 customers affected, SDG&E data showed.

Back in February 2023, Borrego Springs was hit hard by a storm, causing severe damage to many homes and many trees uprooted from the core and a power outage that lasted almost two days.

A safety message from SDG&E was released, saying, “SDG&E crews are currently conducting repairs on our Borrego Springs transmission line following an unplanned weather-related electrical outage. We understand being without power can be disruptive and appreciate your patience while we conduct this important work to safely restore reliable service in your area. The restoration of electrical service is expected to occur around 7 p.m.”

In anticipation of any possible storms, SDG&E has increased the number of field crews and equipment available to restore power as quickly and safely as possible. However, preparedness is a community effort, and the company encourages all of its customers to have a plan in place in case of unplanned outages.

Many continue to question the use of the microgrid as once again, has failed to do what it was meant to do, and that is to provide back up power/energy for the town. It is hoped that this will change and improved to be able to reduce or eliminate power outages in times of foul weather.