Power Outage Disrupts Schools in San Bernardino

News Summary

A significant power outage affected around 17,000 customers in San Bernardino after a locomotive collided with grid equipment. Southern California Edison restored power by noon, but 14 schools were closed due to concerns about rising temperatures and poor ventilation. The community faced challenges as traffic signals malfunctioned during the outage. Fortunately, no injuries were reported. The school district plans to resume regular classes soon, highlighting the importance of infrastructure reliability in supporting education and public services.

San Bernardino – A widespread power outage impacted approximately 17,000 customers in San Bernardino, California, on Tuesday morning. The disruption was triggered around 5 a.m. when a locomotive collided with grid equipment, leading to significant consequences for local schools and residents.

Southern California Edison (SCE) confirmed that the power was fully restored by noon on the same day. In light of the outage and rising temperatures, the San Bernardino City Unified School District decided to close 14 schools. The affected institutions included Chávez, Salinas, Shandin Hills, Kendall Complex, Holcomb, Hillside, North Park, Cajon High School, Palm, Vermont, North Verdemont, Kimbark, Newmark, and Muscoy. Parents were promptly notified of the closure and requested to pick up their children as soon as possible.

The decision to close schools was particularly influenced by anticipated temperatures reaching the high 90s and possible triple digits, raising concerns about student safety, as many classrooms are known to lack adequate ventilation. Despite the closures, most campuses in the district remained operational throughout the power outage for other students.

Capt. Shawn Millerick from the San Bernardino County Fire Department explained that an Edison transmission line fell onto the BNSF locomotive while it was located in the rail yard on 4th Street, prompting the power outage. Fortunately, no injuries were reported as a result of this incident. Additionally, it was noted that the outage left several stoplights in northern San Bernardino inoperative, further complicating navigation in the area.

Despite the widespread power interruption, St. Bernardine Medical Center continued to operate normally. However, it marked a concerning pattern for local education, as this was the second consecutive day that schools in the county experienced service interruptions due to power outages. Just the day before, classes were canceled in the Bear Valley Unified School District.

Outage data from Edison’s outage website revealed five separate power outages in San Bernardino County, all of which were logged at the same time—5:08 a.m. However, SCE spokesman Jeff Monford stated that this timing discrepancy might have resulted from a data entry error.

Despite the challenges presented by unexpected outages and rising temperatures, the school district anticipates resuming classes at the affected schools on Wednesday, reassuring parents and students about getting back to regular educational activities. As the community addresses the aftermath of the power outage, officials are likely to assess the situation further to minimize disruption from similar incidents in the future.

The power outage in San Bernardino serves as a reminder of the interconnectedness of infrastructure systems and their impact on community services, particularly in educational settings. Ongoing updates regarding any further developments or procedural evaluations are expected as the district, city, and utility companies work together to address these issues.

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• ABC7 News
• Wikipedia: San Bernardino, California
• San Bernardino Sun
• Google Search: San Bernardino power outage
• NBC Los Angeles
• Encyclopedia Britannica: San Bernardino
• Spectrum News 1
• Google News: San Bernardino school closures
• KTLA News