After restoring electricity on Thursday afternoon to all customers in rural areas impacted by public safety shutoffs, strong Santa Ana winds overnight forced San Diego Gas & Electric to turn off the power again.

Nearly 8,000 San Diego Gas and Electric customers had their power shut off Friday morning in yet another effort to reduce wildfire risk due to strong Santa Ana winds.

After restoring power to all customers Thursday, SDG&E then de-energized 6,909 customers in rural east and north county as a precaution amid high winds and low humidity, with 67,743 at risk of a public safety power shutoff if conditions worsen.

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.

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.

A Red Flag Warning went into effect at 4 a.m. Wednesday for portions of San Diego County as Santa Ana winds began to peak.

Over 7,000 San Diego Gas & Electric customers were reported to have their power shut off Wednesday morning 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,

ABC 10News reporter Adam Campos was live from Ramona to take a closer look at SDG&E's power shutoffs as more than 64,000 customers could be impacted Wednesday in anticipation of Santa Ana wind conditions.