Assemblywoman Christy Smith (D-Santa Clarita) wrote a letter to Governor Gavin Newsom and the California Public Utilities Commission expressing her concern about the Public Safety Power Shutoff system or PSPS and its application in communities like Agua Dulce in the 38th Assembly District.

Smith’s office has received numerous calls from constituents illustrating the inconveniences, and in some cases, danger, the power shutoff system has caused during recent fires like the Tick Fire.

“When neighbors’ safety and livelihood are at stake, it is defeatist to simply express sympathies and refer them to the same resources,” Smith said in the letter.

“My constituents have called repeatedly throughout the last few weeks,” she wrote. “Their unfortunate and lackluster interactions with every government agency and the power companies intended to serve them has been disappointing, if not outright shameful.

“On behalf of the medically fragile and elderly, we must take immediate action to ensure their healthcare and safety, and on behalf of all the communities I represent, this crisis must be the top governing priority as we head into the new year,” Smith wrote.

Smith’s full letter to Newsom about the power shutoff system can be found here.

Assemblywoman Christy Smith represents California’s 38th Assembly District, which includes the communities of Santa Clarita, Simi Valley, Agua Dulce, Castaic, Santa Susana Knolls and North San Fernando Valley.