A power blackout rolled through sections of Malibu on March 19 at 3:30 p.m. The outage was part of one of the “rolling” blackouts that have been affecting various communities throughout the state during California’s current power crisis. So, how often can we expect to go without power?

Rolling blackouts will occur “whenever the state declares that we’re in a power emergency and there’s not enough power in the state for customers,” said Mark Olson, regional manager of west side cities for Southern California Edison.

A rolling blackout is “predetermined in an emergency plan,” Olson continued, and affects “small sections that will be out for about an hour.” Olson explained that blackouts are “randomly dispersed throughout the community.” During a power emergency, various communities linked to the state’s power grid are chosen at random, and then areas within those communities are blacked out for about an hour, Olson said.

There is always a potential for power to go out in a small section of a community whenever there’s an emergency, he added.

There’s no accurate way to predict what areas will be hit by an outage at any particular time. “The state might not let us know beforehand,” Olson said, “because they might not know.” Besides, he pointed out, “For security reasons, the state doesn’t want to announce in advance where a blackout might occur.”

The City of Malibu has no plans for dealing with emergencies that might arise during a blackout. The distribution of power isn’t up to the city, points out Hap Holmwood, emergency preparedness coordinator for the city — and neither is law enforcement.

“The only concern that we observe is that the sheriffs have to deal with traffic,” said Holmwood. “Other than that, there’s not much the city can do. It’s out of the city’s hands.”

The Sheriff’s Department already has plans in place for dealing with blackout-induced traffic snarls.

The department has “identified key signals that need to be manned by deputies” when power is out, said sheriff’s Lt. Thom Bradstock at the Lost Hills substation. Deputies “prioritize” problem intersections, but leave intersections alone where there is “not a high volume of cross traffic.”

Bradstock reminds the public that motorists are “required to stop [at a nonfunctioning traffic light] as if it were a flashing red light,” and take turns passing through the intersection. A flashing red light is the same as a stop sign.

He was optimistic that, as summer approaches, and with it more power outages, the “public will become more familiar with procedures” and that traffic will move relatively smoothly.

A San Francisco-based land conservancy has exercised its option to purchase a lower Topanga property that spans Topanga Canyon north of Pacific Coast Highway, possibly uprooting local businesses and leaving area residents without homes.

LAACO, Ltd., of Los Angeles, which also owns the Los Angeles Athletic Club, California Yacht Club and Storage West, announced last week that the American Land Conservancy (ALC) would exercise its option to buy the land.

The ALC in turn plans to transfer the land to the state of California for use as a state park, or other public purposes, according to a press release.

Rumors have been brewing for years that the

1,659-acre parcel was up for sale, but landmark businesses, such as the Reel Inn restaurant, Wylies Bait and Tackle Shop and the Feed Bin, which have occupied the area for decades, as well as residents, have been kept in the dark about imminent future plans for the property.

“We’ll see what happens,” said Richard Jo, who bought the Topanga Ranch Market 15 months ago.

Generally, the business owners have opted to take the wait-and- see approach to such news, having been through this before when LAACO tried to sell the property to the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy. The deal did not go through because the conservancy could not come up with enough funds.

The land has been appraised for $43 million, and earlier this year Gov. Gray Davis designated $40 million toward its purchase, pending state approval of the purchase price.

The businesses and tenants of 50 rental units nearby hope to stay but are aware that their month-to-month leases leave open the possibility of eviction. Residents have hired attorney Frank Angel to find out what their rights are and possibly fight eviction.

They have also organized and created the Lower Topanga Conservancy. Under this title they hope to make a proposal to buy the 50-acre lot where the rental units exist.

“We’re just floating this idea because we think this community is worth saving,” said Bernt Capra, a longtime resident of the area.

Under the Topanga conservancy proposal, state parks could later buy the lot. “We know this eventually will all be public land,” said Capra, “but for the next 25 years to 30 years we can be the owners and fix up our properties.”

The proposed arrangement does not include the Topanga/PCH businesses, as the land on which they sit is far more valuable.

Kim Ruge, who has been the general manager for the Reel Inn for 15 years, said the restaurant would continue to do business until the owners are told to move.

“Change happens and change is good, but sometimes it affects people in ways they don’t want it to,” said Ruge.

“We all live close by and we’re like a family,” said Ruge of employees of the Reel Inn, adding that workers and families who live in the homes nearby would be broken up if they had to move.

Additionally, not only will employees lose jobs, but people who live at the Ranch Motel, another unique landmark in the area and which provides affordable housing for people who could not live here without it, would also lose their homes.

It’s still too early to tell, said July Benson, spokesperson for LAACO, when asked what will happen to the tenants who occupy the land.

“Though they [LACCO] marked a huge step forward with the option, it also marks the beginning of a long transfer process,” she said.

The transaction is expected to be completed by the end of this year. Who will move the businesses and tenants still needs to be determined, said Benson, emphasizing that whatever happens, LAACO wants to stress that tenants will be compensated and relocated as required by state law.

The Topanga conservancy group said the ALC will save money if the group is allowed to buy the residential lot, because it would not have to pay for relocation costs.

“We’re waiting to see what happens with the tenants,” said Roy Stern, director of public relations for the state parks. “We are not interested in acquiring the land until there is a fair and equitable solution for tenants.

“We have no desire to have the land with the tenants, we’re all waiting to see what happens next with the ALC and LACCO.”

Harriett Burgess, ALC director, indicated that state parks officials have not told her what they will do.

As for the possibility of the ALC keeping part of the land for other purposes, Burgess said, “Everything is uncertain at this point.”