Update 5:15 p.m. -- Power has been restored to all customers, according to the SDG&E website.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo by Fran Materra, via Facebook: Thanksgiving by lanternlight in Potrero

November 26, 2021 (San Diego’s East County) – An estimated 2,520 SDG&E customers remain in the dark on Black Friday due to power-shut offs amid a red flag warning for high fire danger. About half the communities originally blacked out have power restored, but these areas remain without power:  Alpine, Boulevard, the Campo reservation, Descanso, Jamul, Potrero, the Viejas Reservation, and Warner Springs.

More than 50,000 customers remain at risk of outages yet to come.  View the list of communities at risk at https://www.sdge.com/psps-dashboard. SDG&E has set up community resource centers where residents without power can go to recharge devices, pickup ice, water, snacks and more. Find the closest CRC at SDG&E’s CRC look-up tool.

East County residents posted comments and complaints on social media regarding the outages. While some railed against SDG&E for cutting power on a holiday, others pre-cooked foods early, grateful for the warnings.  Others dined out at restaurants, brought in hot meals, or headed to relatives homes’ outside the blacked-out areas. Some also voiced thanks that no homes were lost to wildfires.

By Miriam Raftery

November 25, 2021 (San Diego’s East County) – SDG&E has shut off power to 5,311 customers as of 10 a.m. Thanksgiving morning.  Another 47,934 are at risk of outages amid a red flag warning for extreme fire danger and high winds. 

So far, these are the communities without power:  Alpine, Boulevard, Descanso, Jamul, Pala, Pauma Valley, and Potrero as well as the Campo, Cuyapaipe, La Jolla, Pauma, and Viejas reservations.Many more areas are on a list of potential outages to come.

View an outage map and click on your community for estimated power restoration times:  https://www.sdge.com/residential/customer-service/outage-center/outage-map   Some areas are listed as likely to be without power until Saturday.

SDG&E has opened several community resource centers where residents can get water, ice, snacks, and preparedness supplies, car power inverters, solar-powered batteries, radios, and update on outages.  View map at https://www.sdge.com/resource-centers.

By Miriam Raftery

November 22, 2021 (San Diego) – With SDG&E warning over 28,000 customers in 38 communities of possible outages Thursday through Saturday due to high fire danger, how can you salvage Thanksgiving dinner plans with your family?  Here are a few ideas:

1. Cook your turkey and side dishes on Wednesday. You can serve sliced turkey and sides cold, or cook or reheat on a covered barbecue or camp stove on your patio outdoors, but keep a water bucket handy if you cook on any open flame.

2. Plan a picnic outside with side dishes that can be served cold. How about a yam potato salad instead of baked yams?  Or a balsamic green bean salad instead of green bean casserole?  Consider ditching traditional turkey for smoked salmon or a gourmet charcuterie board instead.

East County News Service

November 18, 2021 (Alpine) – After you’ve savored your Thanksgiving feast, you’re invited to come watch exotic animals at Lions, Tigers and Bears in Alpine device their Thanksgiving meal at the annual Turkey Bash.

Bobbi Brink, founder of Lions, Tigers and Bears in Alpine, is among sanctuary founders highlighted in new video

East County News Service

View video

November 14, 2021 (Alpine) -- More tigers are held in captivity across the U.S. than remain in the wild globally, estimates suggest. The Big Cat Sanctuary Alliance (BCSA) is a coalition of wildlife rescuers, reputable sanctuaries, and animal advocates working to eliminate the trade in “pet” wildcats and the commercial exploitation of exotic felines nationwide. Seeking to raise awareness about the plight of captive big cats held in inhumane conditions, the BCSA earlier this month released a new video titled Tiger Queens.

By Miriam Raftery

November 8, 2021 (Alpine) – Southern California’s largest outdoor ice skating rink at Viejas Casino & Resort will reopen for the holiday season  November 12 and will remain open until January 3.

Enjoy the sights and sounds of the season with holiday lights, entertainment and a winter water show as well – all at the Viejas Outlets Center, across the street from the Viejas Casino in Alpine at 5003 Willows Road.

The rink is open daily from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m., weather permitting, except for these holidays:

By Miriam Raftery

November 3, 2021 (Alpine) – A rollover crash in Alpine shortly at 12:03 a.m. killed the driver, a 32-year-old El Cajon man, and seriously injured his passenger, a 40-year-old woman from Escondido.

Source: Caltrans

Photo: Creative Commons-SA via Bing

October 23, 2021 (Dulzura) --  Pavement rehabilitation work on a nine-mile segment of State Route 94,  from just west of Arnold Road to State Route 188 in East County, will move to weekdays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. beginning Monday, according to Caltrans.

The work will require lane closures on 1.5-mile sections of roadway within the project area through November. Highway personnel will direct traffic onto the open lane, one direction at a time, as crews work on the closed lane.

Traffic delays are expected depending on the traffic queues and motorists are advised to allow additional travel time to reach their destinations.

Signs will be posted ahead of the closures to alert drivers.

By Miriam Raftery

October 13, 2021 (San Diego’s East County) – From one extreme to another, San Diego’s mountains and high deserts will have frost and freezing temperatures tonight, followed by Santa Ana winds Thursday and near-critical fire weather on Friday.

Low temperatures tonight and early tomorrow morning could dip into the mid-20s in the mountains and as low as the mid-30s in the high desert.

Veteran education administrator to oversee O’Farrell, Ingenuity Charter Schools

East County News Service

October 8, 2021 (San Diego) – The O’Farrell Charter Schools, which includes The O'Farrell Charter School and Ingenuity Charter School, announced today the appointment of Alpine resident Cynthia “Cindy” Wagner as its new superintendent. Her selection follows a four-month nationwide search that resulted in a pool of numerous well-qualified candidates. 

By Miriam Raftery, East County Magazine

October 7, 2021 (Proctor Valley) – A San Diego Superior Court judge today ordered the County of San Diego to vacate its 2019 approval of portions of the Otay Ranch Village 14 and Planning Areas 16/19 in Proctor Valley south of Jamul near Chula Vista, due to the danger of wildfires in an area that has already had many severe fires.

Judge Richard S. Whitney found that the County’s environmental impact report failed to assess the increase wildfire risk, nor offer any mitigation to reduce those increased risks if the controversial master-planned community were built. 

California Attorney General Rob Bonta intervened on behalf of the people of California to support a lawsuit filed by environmental groups challenging the project.  Bonta praised the decision, stating, “Today’s ruling by the Superior Court affirms a critical fact: Local governments have a responsibility to address wildfire risks associated with development projects at the front end. Doing so will save dollars—and lives—down the line.”

By Miriam Raftery 

October 4, 2021 (La Mesa) – Lightning from tonight’s storm sparked several fires across East County tonight, including this one in the Casa de Oro/Mt. Helix area.  Dawn Hough Sebaugh captured a series of dramatic images showing lightning striking vegetation with an explosive force, sending a shower of sparks swirling up into the night sky.

“It sounded like a bomb went off!” Sebaugh posted, noting that she thought a lightning bolt had struck a home.

Pulse Point indicates the strike was on Calavo just north of Louisa. A dispatcher at Heartland Fire & Rescue confirms that fortunately, the lightning did not strike a structure, but instead ignited a grove of palm trees.

Source: Caltrans

September 17, 2021 (San Diego’s East County) -- Caltrans crews anticipate closures at Interstate 8 (I-8) and Crestwood Road for four to six weeks beginning Monday to replace guardrail systems. The work will require full closures of the westbound I-8/Crestwood Road on-ramp and the eastbound I-8/Crestwood Road off-ramp near the Golden Acorn Casino, Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. through early November. Advance notification signs have been placed to inform motorists about the closures. See map below for closure areas.

East County News Service

September 10, 2021 (Alpine) - The Children’s Nature Retreat in Alpine is hosting its 9^th annual Fundraiser Gala with ‘An Evening On Safari’ on Saturday, Sept. 18.