How often has SDG&E shut off power in Ramona during fire weather?

A home’s power history is worth asking about before you buy or prepare a Ramona property for sale. The answer needs to stay tied to the address, though. SDG&E’s reports document seven weather events through 2020 in which its tables label de-energized devices “Ramona”. They don’t establish that every Ramona home lost power seven times.

Later records show Ramona community resource center activations and backup power at the Ramona Air Attack Base. Those are useful local facts, but they don’t supply a shutoff count for your house.

How many shutoff events do the older reports identify?

SDG&E’s own tables identify seven weather events through 2020 with de-energized devices carrying Ramona labels.

The event windows were:

• January 27 through 29, 2018.
• November 11 through 16, 2018.
• October 24 through 26, 2019.
• October 28 through November 1, 2019.
• December 2 through 5, 2020.
• December 6 through 9, 2020.
• December 23 through 24, 2020.

These seven events appear in five reports because some reports cover several weather events. The labels include Ramona and directional variations such as “RAMONA E” and “N Ramona”. Those are utility table labels, not a neighborhood list.

Some interruptions lasted beyond a day. The December 2 through 5, 2020 table lists durations from 35 to 47 hours for Ramona-labelled devices. The December 23 through 24 report lists a Ramona E device with a duration of 12 hours.

You can find the documents in SDG&E’s PSPS reports index. When reviewing them, distinguish the overall weather window from a particular device’s shutoff and restoration times.

What do the later reports establish?

Later reports establish no PSPS de-energizations anywhere in SDG&E’s service territory in 2022 or 2023, followed by documented Ramona resource center activations in December 2024 and January 2025.

The 2026 pre-season report confirms the two years without de-energizations. During October 29 through 31, 2023, Ramona appeared in potential-impact notifications, but SDG&E ultimately did not de-energize any customers.

For December 9 through 11, 2024, the utility documented a community resource center at Ramona Branch Library, 1275 Main St, with attendance of 346. It also recorded operation of the Air Attack Base microgrid.

The library center activated again during both January 2025 events. The January 7 through 16 report records opening on January 10, with attendance of 19. The January 20 through 24 report records attendance of 72.

These records establish local support activity. The newer device tables lack the older community column, so they don’t provide the same explicit Ramona labels. A resource center opening alone doesn’t prove that a particular home lost power.

Can the reports tell you which neighborhoods lost power most?

The reports cannot support a ranking of Ramona neighborhoods because customer counts belong to circuits or devices, not communities, ZIP codes or subdivisions.

A circuit can serve several communities. In the January 2018 report, circuit 222’s community list includes Ramona E alongside Banner, Harrison Park, Mesa Grande and other labels. Calling the entire circuit’s customer count a Ramona total would misstate what the table measures.

The December 2020 report also notes that customer counts include customers still receiving electricity through temporary microgrid configurations. A table’s count therefore needs its accompanying explanation.

For your address, ask SDG&E which circuit serves the property. Its reports index publishes device-level tables and GIS files called “De-Energized Circuit Outage Areas”. An address-level review would need those mapped areas rather than a sum of circuit totals.

Keep the question specific: Was this house within a documented de-energized area, and when? The town-wide record gives context, but it doesn’t answer that question by itself.

How can you check maps and receive alerts?

SDG&E’s PSPS dashboard displays its map of potentially affected areas during an event; the CPUC Fire-Threat Map supports address searches at any time, but a tier is not a shutoff history.

The PSPS dashboard says a map of potentially affected areas appears when there is an event. SDG&E also directs customers to its readiness page for impacted communities and resource center hours.

Its notification process begins approximately 48 hours before a possible shutoff, followed by an update approximately 24 hours before if the risk continues. Confirmation comes a few hours before the expected start. Notices also cover power going off and restoration. Contact methods include phone, text and email.

The confirmation notice includes the expected start, while the notice sent when power goes off includes community resource center addresses and hours. Keep those details with the property’s outage records so the date and type of interruption remain clear. A potential-impact notice and a power-off notice represent different steps in the notification sequence.

Check your details in My Energy Center. The Alerts by SDGE app can track up to five addresses without an account number.

After closing, update the notification contacts for the home’s utility account. Choose contact details that will reach the new owner by phone, text or email, and use the app’s address tracking for other properties whose alerts matter to the household.

Separately, the CPUC Fire-Threat Map allows address searches. Tier 2 identifies higher fire-threat areas; Tier 3 identifies extreme fire-threat areas. A tier designation isn’t evidence that the home has experienced a shutoff. Keep that distinction when reviewing natural hazard disclosure reports.

Does Ramona’s microgrid keep homes powered?

The Ramona Air Attack Base microgrid backs up the CAL FIRE and US Forest Service air base, not Ramona homes.

SDG&E announced completion in April 2022, describing the project as a collaboration with those agencies to keep essential resources powered during PSPS events. The December 2024 workbook lists a battery rated at 500 kW and 2 MWh and documents operation from December 9 through December 11. The January 2025 reports list its status as standby.

That is a local backup resource with a specific purpose. Don’t treat it as backup service for a house near the airport. Airport-related property questions belong in a separate review of Ramona’s airport land use plan.

Nor should a purchase plan depend on promised undergrounding dates. SDG&E’s 2026 pre-season report says its strategic undergrounding program is currently suspended and anticipated PSPS risk reductions will be delayed.

For immediate support, check the community resource center page. Centers offer water, ice, snacks, Wi-Fi, device charging and outage information. Confirm the location and current hours during the event.

SDG&E describes the centers as offering free Wi-Fi, water, ice, snacks and device charging, plus outage information. The resource center page includes an address search, making it useful for checking available support during a shutoff. Ramona’s documented library location is a practical starting point, but its past activation dates and hours don’t establish its hours for a future event.

What should you ask about the home’s equipment and disclosures?

Ask about the home’s actual outage experience and backup equipment, and read the current disclosure form with your agent.

Ask your agent whether anything on the current disclosure forms covers outages or power shutoffs, and share what you know about the home’s outage history. The California seller disclosure guide provides separate disclosure context.

An interruption during fire weather isn’t, by itself, evidence of a planned safety shutoff, so ask for the utility notice as well as the date.

Use this practical checklist for property questions:

• Ask whether the home has a generator, battery or transfer switch, and what equipment it backs up.
• Ask whether a private well pump uses electricity and what backup is available.
• Check whether the septic system uses a lift or effluent pump.
• Ask about backup arrangements for the garage door opener, sump pump, well or pressure tank.
• Ask the seller about outage dates and available notices.

If qualifying medical equipment or a condition is relevant, review SDG&E’s Medical Baseline program. Enrolled customers may receive extra PSPS support, including in-person contact attempts. SDG&E recommends arranging backup power.

Medical Baseline is a residential program for customers with a qualifying medical condition or device, and its application requires physician certification. It provides an additional amount of gas and electricity at the lowest rates. Review the application forms and enrollment information with SDG&E alongside the household’s backup arrangements.

The short version

Ramona has documented PSPS history, but the published record doesn’t give every home the same shutoff count.

Start with the seven weather events through 2020 carrying explicit Ramona device labels. Keep the absence of PSPS de-energizations in 2022 and 2023 in view, and read later resource center activations for what they establish. The Air Attack Base microgrid serves the air base.

For your transaction, ask about the address, equipment and actual notices. Update notification contacts after closing and check current resource center hours during an event.

For a separate starting point on your property’s value, use the home value tool.