Power still out for 12,000 customers across Northern California after snow, PG&E says
PG&E says about 12,000 customers remain without power in the Sierra Nevada foothills after a recent low-elevation snowstorm caused “significant” damage to the utility’s equipment.
It’s at least the fourth consecutive day Pacific Gas and Electric Co. has reported widespread outages in the region. The 12,000 customers currently affected, as of a 7 a.m. update, are mostly in Nevada, Placer, El Dorado, Sierra, Amador, Calaveras and Tuolumne counties, PG&E spokeswoman Brandi Merlo said in an email. By 2:30 p.m., PG&E outage page showed little progress.
More than 165 PG&E crews were working to restore power. Merlo said on Twitter Thursday afternoon that the storm damaged PG&E’s infrastructure and its ability to access locations. She also said that many customers should have power restored by Friday.
“We know that some customers have been without power for some time,” Merlo wrote. “... Low-elevation and often heavy snow results in many trees falling into PG&E’s electric equipment, causing significant damage and resulting in outages.”
The outages included more than 2,500 homes or businesses in Pollock Pines, about 1,100 in Nevada City, nearly 2,000 in Arnold and over 1,250 across Placer County.
Snow hit hard in the Sierra mountains and the foothills to the west starting Saturday and continued well into the week, according to the National Weather Service.
Long-term power outages are bad news for residents relying on electricity to heat their homes. Snowfall is finally starting to let up, forecasts show, but temperatures remain cold in some of areas that remain most affected by the PG&E outages: Pollock Pines was 28 degrees, Arnold was 32 degrees and Nevada City was at 36 as of 7:30 a.m. Thursday, according to the NWS.
The extended outages are perhaps even more problematic given the ongoing coronavirus crisis. Gov. Gavin Newsom early this week directed adults over age 65 to self-isolate in their homes, later expanding his directive by saying that all non-essential businesses should close temporarily and that all gatherings of any size should be canceled or postponed. Placer County is among California counties strongly recommending that all residents shelter in place.
Donna Nobriga, an Amador County resident, told The Sacramento Bee on Wednesday it’s hard to stay healthy with no heat and only cold water. She lives in the small town of Pioneer, which mostly has retired residents who are trying to do the right thing by staying home to help slow the coronavirus spread, she said.
“I know there are people in worse shape, but we aren’t going to be able to stay isolated without power,” Nobriga said.
Her home’s power was restored about 8:45 p.m. on Wednesday after three days without electricity, she said.
This story was originally published March 19, 2020 at 7:57 AM.
