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Mono County emergency staff, supervisors review storm response after multi‑day power outages in June Lake and Lee Vining
Summary
County emergency management reported two warming centers opened during the storm and confirmed prolonged power outages of roughly 23 hours in June Lake and 29 hours in Lee Vining. The board asked staff to pursue a debrief with Southern California Edison and to improve interagency communications and public notification procedures.
Mono County emergency management briefed the Board of Supervisors on storm response and widespread power outages during the Feb. 18 meeting, describing warming centers, mutual‑aid responses and communication gaps with Southern California Edison (SCE).
Chris McCrasick, county emergency management, said the county opened two warming centers (June Lake and Lee Vining) during the storm; he monitored June Lake where residents used the facility for Internet access, device charging and shelter. Emergency crews responded to multiple structure fires in June Lake during the storm; mutual aid from Mammoth Lakes and Lee Vining assisted fire suppression. McCrasick said some outages lasted more than 24 hours: about 23 hours in June Lake and about 29 hours in Lee Vining. He also reported additional outages north of Bridgeport and noted the Mount Waterfowl (training center) had large generators and was operational.
McCrasick told the board that communications with SCE were limited during the event: a local SCE representative left early for travel and county staff struggled to reach timely operational information. Supervisors requested SCE return to the board for a briefing and debrief of the outage and messaging protocols. Board members said they want clearer public notification plans and better points of contact for utility partners during disruptive multi‑day events.
County administrative staff thanked county crews and EMS for storm response and related avalanche rescue support. The board discussed continuing debriefs, community emergency notification system improvements and the need to clarify utility points of contact for future events.
Ending: County emergency management will debrief with SCE and report back to the board; supervisors asked staff to return with recommendations to strengthen community notification and interagency communication.
