Yucaipa council defends decision not to use temporary stop signs during PSPS; vows follow-up actions

Yucaipa city officials told residents at their Jan. 13 meeting that the city did not place temporary stop signs during recent public-safety power shutoffs because doing so could create safety hazards and legal exposure, and because staff could not ensure rapid removal if signals were reenergized.

City Manager (speaker 11) said the shutoffs were coordinated by Southern California Edison and described poor advance notice and inconsistent outage maps, noting, “Southern California Edison has announced that we may see shutoffs again at some point this week,” and criticized Edisonor “very poor communication.”

Captain Walker of the county sheriff epartment, who briefed council on enforcement and collisions, said the decision to avoid temporary signs followed consultation with partners and state guidance. "The decision to initiate these power shutoffs ... was made solely by Edison," he said, adding that traffic signals initially have battery backups but can lose power if outages extend. Walker said deputies issued 35 citations during the two-and-a-half-day event and recorded five collisions, mostly minor, and urged drivers to treat intersections with inoperable signals as four-way stops.

City Attorney (speaker 10) summarized relevant case law and practical constraints, citing Chowdhury v. City of Los Angeles, and warned that placing temporary devices without a policy risks creating conflicting instructions if signals return to service: "An intersection with an inoperative traffic signal due to a power outage is not a dangerous condition as a matter of law," he said, and added that temporary devices can become hazards in high winds or if not removed promptly.

Council members and staff described near-term steps to reduce future risk. The city manager said staff will pursue grants and operational changes, including a pending application for reflective tape to increase signal visibility, and the city will identify potential charging/warming locations in facilities that retain power. Staff also said they will coordinate with the sheriff's department, fire, public works and volunteer teams such as CERT and ministerial organizations to refine response plans and consider whether to adopt a formal policy on temporary traffic-control devices.

Mayor Thorpe and council members thanked public works, fire and sheriff personnel for extended shifts during the outage and pledged an after-action review to identify improvements.

The council discussion closed with reminders to drivers: treat inoperable signals as a four-way stop and exercise caution during future outages. The council scheduled follow-up work and a lessons-learned briefing.