With Southern California Edison warning of dangerous fire weather and possible power shutoffs through Friday, the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District is preparing for potential impacts at three Malibu schools. Backup generators are on standby and ready to use if needed.
Generators are ready at Malibu Elementary, Malibu Middle and Malibu High schools, according to a district news release issued Wednesday. Webster Elementary School is not within the circuit area currently under a power warning, the district said.
The district said it is monitoring updates from SCE and that student and staff safety is its priority.
"We are preparing for the possibility of a power shutoff and monitoring information from Southern California Edison," Superintendent Antonio Shelton said in a statement. "The safety of our students and staff is our priority, and we will keep families informed if there are any changes that affect school operations."
If conditions require changes to school operations, the district will contact families and staff directly through official channels. When possible, the district will notify parents, faculty and staff by 6:30 a.m. if school is canceled or delayed, according to the release.
How families can get alerts
The district uses ParentSquare to send emergency alerts, school closure notices and safety updates. It is asking families to confirm their contact information now in case conditions change.
District officials recommend that parents first log in to the Aeries Parent Portal at santamonicamalibu.aeries.net/student/LoginParent.aspx, select Student Info and then Contacts, and make sure parent, guardian and emergency contact information is current. Families who need help making changes can contact their school office.
Next, parents should log in to ParentSquare at parentsquare.com/signin or through the ParentSquare link in Aeries. Clicking the name icon in the upper right corner and choosing Manage Account opens a menu on the left side of the screen. Under My Account, parents can verify that their phone number and email address are correctly listed in Aeries. Under Notification Settings, the Alerts and Notifications option lets parents confirm that text, email and mobile app notifications are turned on.
The district cautioned that opting out of a single ParentSquare text message opts parents out of all texts, including emergency alerts. Parents who are opted in to texts but turn off notifications will still receive text alerts. They will not receive posts or direct messages.
The free ParentSquare app is available for iOS and Android devices. A district flyer advises app users to allow push notifications on their phones.
The district will also post updates on Facebook at SMMUSD and on Instagram at @smmusd_official. It urged families to monitor official communications from the district and local emergency agencies.
More information is available at smmusd.org/departments/communications/parentsquare.
Shutoffs possible as winds build
SCE has warned that high winds and dangerous fire conditions are expected from Wednesday morning through Friday evening. Santa Ana winds, which are typically hot and dry, can raise wildfire risk in Southern California, the district said.
Malibu city officials said that the utility may cut power to parts of Malibu starting at midnight Thursday. The shutoff could affect the Cuthbert, Galahad, Maguire and Merlin circuits, according to the city.
Public Safety Power Shutoffs are meant to keep SCE equipment from starting fires during dangerous conditions. SCE notifies affected customers directly, and residents can check their circuit and restoration status at sce.com.
Power may take eight hours or more to return after the winds die down because crews must first inspect lines and equipment, the city said.
The National Weather Service forecasts Santa Ana winds through Friday, with gusts up to 70 mph in the mountains. The strongest winds and hottest temperatures, in the upper 80s and 90s, are expected Thursday and Friday.
A heat advisory is in effect from 10 a.m. Thursday to 8 p.m. Saturday, with temperatures up to 95 degrees. It covers Los Angeles County beaches, the inland coast including downtown Los Angeles, the Palos Verdes Hills, and coastal and inland areas of San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties. Cities in the advisory area include Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Culver City, Torrance, Redondo Beach and Long Beach.
Forecasters warned of possible heat illnesses and urged residents to drink fluids, stay in air-conditioned rooms and stay out of the sun.
The heat follows weeks of volatile weather. A prolonged heat wave that pushed temperatures to 100 degrees gave way to the season's first widespread rain as Tropical Storm Rachel approached last weekend, and temperatures dropped to 69 on Monday.
Malibu officials urged residents to prepare for outages of power, cell service and traffic signals, as well as possible fires and evacuations. They recommended charging devices, filling gas tanks, reviewing evacuation routes and reunification locations, and stocking food, water, medications and essential documents.
Updates are available on KBUU 99.1 FM, the Watch Duty app and malibucity.org/news.