Residents Asked to Check on Loved Ones Affected By Massive Power Outage

The Orange County Fire Authority is asking residents to check on pets or elderly loved ones who live in cities grappling with a massive power outage affecting parts of southern Orange County, San Diego County and inland desert cities.

Orange County cities affected by the outage included Laguna Hills, Mission Viejo, San Clemente, San Juan Capistrano and Dana Point. Of major concern is the health of seniors in desert cities such as Palm Springs, which reached 106 degrees Thursday.

Around 4 p.m. Thursday, a blackout affected San Diego Gas & Electric. The company said via Twitter that the outage could last into Friday. Classes at affected schools such as Saddleback College have been canceled Thursday.

At about 5:30 p.m., the company said through Twitter: "If you have a personal family emergency plan, please activate it now."

SDG&E also noted that the outage had affected street lights, and asked drivers to treat street signals as four-way stops.

The San Onofre nuclear plant shut down because of the outage; officials said there was no danger.