No Classes Friday for Capistrano Unified Students

Even if the lights come back on, students in the won't be going to school Friday because of the .

In a recorded phone message sent to parents about 9:30 p.m. Thursday, Marcus Walton, chief communications officer for the district, said it would not be “proper” to send the district's 51,000 students to school.

“San Diego Gas & Electric cannot assure us that power will be restored in time for school, and local emergency jurisdictions have advised the district to suspend classes until power is restored,” Walton said in his recorded message.

Schools will be closed Friday "even if power is restored," he said. "District staff will need to ensure that the utilities and electrical systems are properly restored, as well as deal with any possible complications from power surges."

“We are sorry for the obvious inconvenience to our working families,” he added. “It is clearly not proper to have students at school without electricity to power key systems, including phones, lights, refrigeration and computers.”

The school district has 56 campuses in seven cities, many affected by the power outage, including San Clemente, San Juan Capistrano, Mission Viejo and Laguna Niguel.

Walton said administrators had not yet decided whether Friday-night sporting events would take place. The district expects school to resume Monday.

San Juan Capistrano residents received a message from the city at around 9:15 p.m., asking for patience.

“Utility workers struggle to restore power to more than 1.4 million people in a large swath of Southern California and beyond as the blackout brought normal life to a halt,” the message said. The speaker was not identified.