Fire Risk High in North Bay Saturday Morning,
in Valley and Sierra Foothills Saturday Night
Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) today said it might
be proactively turning power off for safety and conducting a Public
Safety Power Shutoff in several Northern California counties within
the next 18 to 36 hours. To help reduce the risk of wildfire and
keep our customers, their families and their homes and businesses
safe, the company may be turning off power in areas of the North
Bay and the Sierra foothills where extreme fire risks exist.
PG&E is working directly with CAL FIRE, Cal OES, and other
state and local agencies to help prepare for this potential safety
event. This morning, the National Weather Service has issued Red
Flag Warnings for the Central Valley and the North Bay Hills,
starting either Friday evening or Saturday morning and lasting
until Sunday afternoon.
“We know how much our customers rely on electric service and
would only consider temporarily turning off power in the interest
of safety during extreme weather conditions,” said Michael Lewis,
PG&E’s senior vice president of Electric Operations.
Potential Timing and Locations
For the North Bay, there is the potential for a Public Safety
Power Shutoff affecting several thousand customers starting around
6 a.m. on Saturday. The peak period of fire risk lasts until around
1 p.m. on Saturday.
Areas where power might be shut off:
Napa County: Portions of Napa, Lake BerryessaSolano
County: Portions of Suisun City, Vacaville, WintersYolo
County: Portions of Davis, Winters
For the Sierra foothills, there is the potential for a Public
Safety Power Shutoff affecting about 21,000 customers starting
around 9 p.m. on Saturday with the peak period of fire risk lasting
until 10 a.m. on Sunday.
Areas where power might be shut off:
Butte County: Portions of Paradise, Oroville, Bangor,
Forest Ranch, Chico, Berry Creek, PalermoYuba County:
Portions of Browns Valley, Oregon House, Marysville, Wheatland,
RackerbyNevada County: Portions of Auburn, Grass Valley,
Smartville, Rough and Ready, Penn ValleyEl Dorado County:
Portions of Pilot Hill, Greenwood, Georgetown, CoolPlacer
County: Portions of Lincoln
If you live in these communities, PG&E will attempt to
contact you via telephone, text and email.
Public Safety Power Shutoff Criteria
No single factor drives a Public Safety Power Shutoff, as each
situation is unique. PG&E carefully reviews a combination of
many criteria when determining if power should be turned off for
safety. These factors generally include, but are not limited
to:
- A Red Flag Warning declared by the
National Weather Service
- Low humidity levels, generally 20
percent and below
- Forecasted sustained winds generally
above 25 mph and wind gusts in excess of approximately 45 mph,
depending on location and site-specific conditions such as
temperature, terrain and local climate
- Condition of dry fuel on the ground and
live vegetation (moisture content)
- On-the-ground, real-time observations
from PG&E’s Wildfire Safety Operations Center and observations
from PG&E field crews
Customer notifications
PG&E remains committed to providing notice to customers in
advance of a Public Safety Power Shutoff, when possible. The
company’s goal, dependent on weather, is to send customer alerts
prior to shutting off power. PG&E will do so through automated
calls, texts and emails. The company will also use pge.com and
social media channels, and keep local news and radio outlets
informed and updated.
The cadence and frequency of notifications will depend, however,
on the forecasted extreme weather conditions and how quickly those
threats change, among other factors.
How our customers can prepare
As part of these preparedness efforts, PG&E is asking
customers to:
- Update their contact information at
pge.com/mywildfirealerts or by calling 1-866-743-6589 during normal
business hours. PG&E will use this information to alert
customers through automated calls, texts, and emails, when
possible, prior to, and during, a Public Safety Power Shutoff.
- Plan for medical needs like medications
that require refrigeration or devices that need power.
- Identify backup charging methods for
phones and keep hard copies of emergency numbers.
- Build or restock your emergency kit
with flashlights, fresh batteries, first aid supplies and
cash.
- Keep in mind family members who are
elderly, younger children and pets. Information and tips including
a safety plan checklist are available at
pge.com/wildfiresafety.
Inspections and restoration of power
After the extreme weather has passed and it is safe to do so,
PG&E crews will work to visually inspect each mile of the
impacted power lines to ensure they are free from damage and safe
to energize.
Inspections will take place during daylight hours and, in most
cases, PG&E expects to be able to restore power within 24 to 48
hours after extreme weather has passed. However, depending on
weather conditions or if any repairs are needed, outages (weather
event plus restoration time) could last longer than 48 hours. For
planning purposes, PG&E suggests customers prepare for
multiple-day outages.
Like a winter storm outage, during a Public Safety Power
Shutoff, outage information, including maps showing which areas may
by impacted, will be available on pge.com.
About PG&E
Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E
Corporation (NYSE:PCG), is one of the largest combined natural gas
and electric energy companies in the United States. Based in San
Francisco, with more than 24,000 employees, the company delivers
some of the nation’s cleanest energy to nearly 16 million people in
Northern and Central California. For more information, visit
www.pge.com/ and www.pge.com/en/about/newsroom/index.page.
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