All power restored to Lake Rancho Viejo

Dec. 12, 2024: 3:22 pm update: All power is restored to Lake Rancho Viejo. The SDGE Outage map shows that there are still 269 customers out and they should be back with power by 5:30 pm. Communities Affected were: Rainbow/ Rice Canyon/ Pala Mesa Village

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Dec. 11, 2024: 4 pm update: Power has been restored to 2000 homes, leaving 2000 homes still without power, according to SDGE. Good news for those people who have had their power restored.

The date and time for the restoral have also been updated to Dec. 11, at 6pm, instead of Dec. 12.

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Thousands of Fallbrook residents are being affected by power outages enacted by SDGE for public safety due to high wind warnings in San Diego County. It's affecting the Valley Oaks Mobile Home Park, Horsecreek Ranch area including Citro, and Lake Rancho Viejo. It appears to cover over 4000 homes.

Most people, according to SDGE and local residents, were given a warning yesterday, Monday, Dec. 9, that they were going to lose power at 6:34 pm and it would likely not be turned on until Thursday, Dec. 12, at 5 pm. Shelby, a resident of Citro, said she received her warning about an hour before the shutoff. "We got a chest and filled it with ice and put our most perishable foods into it and lived with candles. It was kind of like camping but we really missed our hot water."

Another Citro resident, Shena McAnallen, affected by the outage posted, "In case anyone is wondering about filing a claim I filed a claim for food spoilage (day of groceries with the receipt and other perishables) with SDGE but was denied since the shutoff was due to public safety." She also told Village News that she didn't think she filed the claim too soon because "It got denied before the SDGE worker asked me if the power had come back on yet."

SDGE has been conducting planned outages across the county to replace equipment. The unplanned outages are in addition to these other planned outages. For the Valley Oaks Mobile Home Park, a Community Resource Center (CRC) or Emergency Support Site for the community was set up to help people who may need water, batteries, blankets, Wi-Fi, Medical Device Charging, Snacks, Phone charging, Ice, Car power-inverter, Small solar-powered batteries and radios. There is mention of a water truck for livestock at some, up-to-date information on outages, etc.

The resource outpost in Fallbrook is located at Fallbrook High School 2234 S. Stagecoach Ln., but a woman who called the Village News visited this command center with her parents and expressed how disappointed she was. Requesting to remain anonymous, she had picked up her parents from their home in the Valley Oaks Mobile Home Park and said, "They were warned they may lose power and then it changed into them losing it for three days." She brought them to her house in Fallbrook but added, "Someone had told us to go to 211.org. So I thought maybe we could pick up a case of water and some batteries for their flashlight. But what we were offered was a 16 oz bottle of water, some goldfish, and a bag of ice. I asked, "Can we get a case? The lady said, "No. If we did that we wouldn't have enough for everyone." "I thought is this really going to last anyone three days?" What will people do for heat? She continued, "Luckily I'm here in power for my parents and I can help my parents but what about people who don't have anyone here? To be given a 16 oz bottle of water is a slap in the face."