Winter storms, no problem. That was the mantra of SDG&E’s Mountain Empire crew as they answered the early morning call at Mr. and Mrs. Vandewalle’s home at Lake Cuyamaca near Julian during one of the coldest days of the year.
“We were experiencing extremely high winds throughout the night; our neighbor’s roof actually blew off! And we are still looking for our trash cans!” said Julian residents Steve and Anna Marie Vandewalle.
The couple explained that on Wednesday, Feb. 22 their power went out at 2 a.m. After calling the SDG&E help line to report the outage at 8 a.m. an SDG&E crew member arrived and pointed out that the jumper from the main trunk line to their house had failed. “The SDG&E rep told us that the aluminum wire can fail in high wind, and I’m sure the extremely frigid temperature, which was well below freezing, didn’t help either.”
The couple said that “the crew arrived quickly and explained that replacing the broken aluminum jumper with a more resilient copper jumper would be more resistant and hold up better in the inclement weather.”
Anna Marie notes that “the crews fast actions getting our power turned back on was an incredible feat, especially since conditions were so miserable.”
“It was very cold, and the snow was blowing,” adds Steve. “But despite the unfavorable conditions they got the work done quickly and we are extremely appreciative.”
SDG&E crews continued to respond to calls as historic winter storms persist throughout San Diego County the following week.
“These guys always give 100% when it comes to restoring power to our customers,” said David.“They take great pride in providing reliable service and they treat every situation as if their families were without power. I couldn’t be prouder of how they respond to calls, especially in the most extreme of conditions.”
Positive shoutouts are also being received on SDG&E’s social media channels as shown here by a Palomar Mountain resident’s Feb. 25th Instagram comment: “Up here on Palomar Mountain we appreciate you GREATLY!!! Thank you so, so much for working during the storm! Power is everything during these times!”
