PG&E poised to shut off power to thousands overnight as winds roll into Northern California
Pacific Gas and Electric announced Saturday evening that about 15,000 people will have their lights turned off after midnight, the first stage of a larger planned blackout in advance of fast-moving winds.
A total of 89,000 PG&E customers may deliberately lose power this weekend, with the first 15,000 residing in areas familiar with the company’s Public Safety Power Shutoffs, which are implemented when fire danger is forecast to reach critical levels.
Parts of Butte, Plumas, Shasta and Tehama counties can expect the power to start dropping off between midnight and 2 a.m. Sunday, when Diablo winds coming in from the east in the Sacramento Valley are expected to gain traction.
These winds are expected to increase in strength until daybreak Sunday, and they may even taper off somewhat around midday, according to PG&E meteorologists. But more blackouts will occur later around 4 p.m.
The bulk of customers will be included in this second stage of power outages. Approximately 74,000 homes and businesses will be left in the dark in Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, El Dorado, Lake, Napa, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Sierra, Sonoma and Yuba counties. Some residents of the Mooretown Rancheria Native American tribe will also be included in this blackout.
Later Sunday evening, some Santa Ana winds are expected to kick up as well, which means PG&E will cut power to about 15 customers in Kern County as well.
PG&E spokeswoman Lynsey Paulo said the company is planning on restoring power to all affected customers by the end of the day Monday. After the high winds subside Monday, PG&E line crews will go out to survey damage to determine when power can safely be restored.
The National Weather Service ordered a red flag warning earlier this week to last from Saturday night through Monday evening, citing a danger of fire starts in much of Northern California as winds enter fire-prone territory. After the red flag warning was issued, PG&E estimated that 21,000 customers could be affected by a PSPS before revising its figures to its current estimate of 89,000. Notifications regarding a potential shutoff were sent out to customers starting Thursday, according to PG&E officials.
The weather service said wind gusts could reach 55 mph. Coupled with the fast-moving winds comes low humidity that provides little relief, even overnight. Minimum daytime humidity in the region is expected to be in the range of 10% to 20%.
Earlier this month, PG&E shut off power to about 172,000 customers due to flaring Diablo winds. PG&E meteorologist Scott Strenfel said this wind event is similar, or slightly less in magnitude compared with the last event.
PG&E incident commander Mark Quinlan said PG&E is confident in its weather models, and does not expect any more customers to be included in the blackouts than are already called for.
“We have a high degree of confidence in this scope,” Quinlan. “We don’t see it moving upward.”
The company has set up 28 community resource centers, where customers affected by the blackouts can charge their devices. The centers are located throughout the affected areas and measures have been taken to ensure they comply with COVID-19 social distancing and sanitation requirements. Those with viral symptoms are asked to not visit the centers.
This story was originally published September 26, 2020 at 7:16 PM.