5,000+ PG&E customers in CA remain without power in wildfire safety shutoff

Pacific Gas and Electric Co. said about 5,065 customers remained without electricity as of 7:30 a.m. Monday as public safety power shutoffs continued in areas facing elevated wildfire risk.

The outages were concentrated along the west side of the Central Valley, the Interstate 5 corridor and inland portions of the Bay Area, where gusty north winds and extremely low humidity prompted red flag warnings.

Glenn, Tehama and Colusa counties remained the most affected by the engineered outage, accounting for more than 3,100 of the affected customers, according to the data reported to the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services.

Most of the remaining outages were expected to be restored by either noon, 2 p.m., 4 p.m. or 11 p.m. Monday, depending on when PG&E crews complete inspections and determine it is safe to re-energize lines.

Winds persist into Monday evening

The National Weather Service said dangerous red flag conditions was forecast to continue through 8 p.m. Monday across much of the Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys, with gusty north winds and extremely dry air continuing to raise the risk that any spark could spread quickly.

Forecasters in Sacramento said the strongest winds were expected along and west of Interstate 5, where gusts of 40 to 50 mph were reported Sunday and could continue into Monday, particularly in the Delta. Winds were expected to ease somewhat Monday, but could still reach 30 to 35 mph across the Valley.

At the same time, relative humidity levels were forecast to drop into the single digits and teens during the day, with only limited overnight recovery. That combination of strong winds, low humidity and dry grasses prompted the red flag warning covering the Valley and Delta through Monday evening.

Forecasters said the weather pattern would turn hotter as the week progresses, with temperatures climbing into the 90s across much of the Central Valley and some areas potentially reaching 100 degrees by Thursday and Friday. Humidity is expected to remain very low, which means elevated fire danger could continue even after winds subside.

PSPS outages Monday morning

Outages by county at 7:30 a.m.

• Alameda County: 1 outage, 115 customers
• Colusa County: 10 outages, 741 customers
• Contra Costa County: 8 outages, 377 customers
• Fresno County: 10 outages, 384 customers
• Merced County: 4 outages, 169 customers
• Napa County: 2 outages, 16 customers
• San Benito County: 4 outages, 207 customers
• San Joaquin County: 2 outages, 191 customers
• Solano County: 2 outages, 202 customers
• Sonoma County: 2 outages, 8 customers
• Stanislaus County: 4 outages, 206 customers
• Tehama County: 13 outages, 1,199 customers
• Yolo County: 1 outage, 12 customers

The largest remaining outage was in the Corning area of Tehama County, where 463 customers were still without electricity Monday morning. Other outages in the same area affected hundreds more, making Corning one of the hardest-hit communities in the shutoff.

In Fresno County, 264 customers were without power near Firebaugh. Colusa County’s largest remaining outage was near Stonyford, where 199 customers were affected, while 169 customers were without power near Elk Creek in Glenn County.

In Solano County, 161 customers remained without power near Vacaville.

Yolo County had one PSPS outage, affecting 12 customers near Capay in the western part of the county.

Community resource centers open

PG&E opened community resource centers from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday in several affected areas, including:

• Rancho Tehama Association, 17605 Park Terrace Road, Corning
• Elk Creek Junior Senior High School, 3430 County Road 309, Elk Creek
• Stonyford Community Hall, 239 Market St., Stonyford
• Grayson Elementary School, 301 Howard Road, Westley
• Tracy Hills Fire Station, 7151 Tracy Hills Drive, Tracy
• Costco Wholesale Livermore, 2800 Independence Drive, Livermore
• Bolado Park Event Center, 9000 Airline Highway, Tres Pinos

All centers are scheduled to operate from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday and offer water, snacks, blankets, device charging and other basic resources for customers affected by the shutoffs.

PG&E uses public safety power shutoffs when forecasts call for strong winds, low humidity and dry vegetation that could allow electrical equipment to spark a wildfire.

Customers can check outage status and sign up for alerts at pge.com/psps.