Yucaipa officials defend not using temporary stop signs after Edison power shutoffs; 35 citations issued

Yucaipa city officials said Southern California Edison initiated public-safety power shutoffs that left much of the city without power, and the city declined to place temporary stop signs at intersections because of legal and safety concerns.

The sheriff's office said the shutoffs were Edison's decision and that deputies and other public-safety staff increased enforcement at intersections without working signals. "The decision to initiate these power shutoffs were not made by the sheriff's department or the fire department or the city, and nor were we consulted on them," a Sheriff's Department representative said. The department reported issuing 35 citations over a roughly two-and-a-half-day period and recorded five traffic accidents during the outage, three with no injuries and two reporting only minor injuries.

City officials and the city attorney cited the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices and a state appellate decision in explaining why temporary stop signs were not placed. "If we cannot ensure that a traffic signal will…