Moorpark College has warned students and faculty of a possible emergency Public Safety Power Shutdown by Southern California Edison conditional on expected Santa Ana winds Thursday and Friday.

According to Vice President and incident commander for Emergency Operations, Silvia Barajas, “An emergency notification will be sent out to all students advising them of the closure. Students will be directed by faculty and staff to evacuate safely.”

Moorpark College will follow procedures to close the campus in the event of a Public Safety Power Shutoff by SCE.

SCE has notified occupants in the local service area of possible safety power outages. With weather specialists on the alert, it is predicted that the Santa Ana winds could reach as high as 75 MPH in parts of Ventura County and possible gusts up to 60 MPH in the Simi and Conejo Valley areas.

Last year, in an effort to better prepare for wildfire conditions, SCE launched the Public Safety Power Shutoff program and also hired Tom Rolinski, fire meteorologist.

Wildfires have long been blamed on electrical equipment, in December 2017 the Thomas Fire raged through Santa Paula and was pushed by Santa Ana winds into nearby Ventura. During this time last year the Camp Fire and the Woolsey Fire, both starting on Nov. 8, 2018, were blazing through California. The Camp Fire investigation concluded that power lines owned and operated by Pacific Gas and Electric Co. were to blame, the Woolsey Fire is still under investigation.

Students and faculty are both advised to go about their normal class schedules.

For more information regarding emergency alerts in Ventura County visit the official Ventura County Information Source webpage.