Utility officials say shutoffs are a necessary, last-resort measure to help prevent devastating wildfires, but they don’t come without impacts to residents, schools and businesses.

First discovered: 12:16 p.m. Jan. 9 A new wildfire was reported today at 12:16 p.m. in San Diego County. Palm Fire has been burning on private land. Currently, details about the containment or cause of the fire are unknown.

San Diego Gas & Electric began restoring power Thursday to customers placed under a public safety power shutoff, allaying the worries of some in high fire-risk areas even as conditions are expected to remain critical through the end of the week.

Initial location: San Diego County, Calif. Hamlet Fire initially started today at 1:10 p.m. in San Diego County. It has burned one acre of private land after being active for six hours. Currently, there is no information on the containment of the fire and the cause of it remains undetermined.

Almost 9,000 San Diego Gas & Electric customers were reported to have their power shut off by midday Wednesday as the region remains under a Red Flag Warning due to Santa Ana winds.

According to the National Weather Service, "a Red Flag Warning means warm temperatures, very low humidity, and stronger winds are expected to combine to produce an increased risk of fire danger." CAL FIRE San Diego said they've sent more than 80 firefighters of their own up to Los Angeles to help combat the wildfires,

Staff at senior care facilities in Ramona and the rest of East County are preparing for the possibility of power shutoffs with the strong Santa Ana winds and the potential fire risk.