Fire risk high for approximately 1,600 Customers in North Bay
Saturday morning; and potentially 30,000 Customers in Sierra Foothills
Saturday night into Sunday morning
SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) announced on Friday evening that
it will begin proactively turning off power for safety as part of a
Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) in portions of several North Bay
communities early Saturday morning and the power will be out through at
least Saturday afternoon.
To help reduce the risk of wildfire and keep our customers, their
families and their homes and businesses safe, the company will turn off
power to approximately 1,600 customers total in these areas of extreme
fire risk:
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Napa County: Portions of unincorporated Napa County and Lake
Berryessa
-
Solano County: Portions of Suisun City, and unincorporated
areas near Vacaville and Winters
-
Yolo County: Unincorporated areas near Davis and Winters
“The safety of our customers and the communities we serve is our most
important responsibility. We know how much our customers rely on
electric service, and our decision tonight to turn off power is to
protect our communities experiencing extreme fire danger,” said Michael
Lewis, senior vice president of Electric Operations, PG&E.
Through its Wildfire Safety Operations Center, PG&E also continues to
monitor weather conditions in parts of the Sierra foothills. Peak fire
risk in these areas is forecasted to begin at around 9 p.m. Saturday and
last through roughly noon on Sunday. A potential PSPS may affect
approximately 30,000 customers total in the following areas:
-
Butte County: Portions of Paradise, Oroville, Bangor, Forest
Ranch, Chico, Berry Creek, Palermo
-
Yuba County: Portions of Browns Valley, Oregon House,
Marysville, Wheatland, Rackerby
-
Nevada County: Portions of Auburn, Grass Valley, Smartville,
Rough and Ready, Penn Valley
-
El Dorado County: Portions of Pilot Hill, Greenwood,
Georgetown, Cool
-
Placer County: Portions of Lincoln
If you live in these communities, PG&E will attempt to contact you via
telephone, text and email. You can also type in your address through
PG&E’s Service Impact Map (pge.com/eventmap)
to determine whether you’re affected.
PG&E is working directly with CAL FIRE, Cal OES, and other state and
local agencies to prepare for these safety events.
On Friday morning, the National Weather Service issued Red Flag Warnings
for the Central Valley and the North Bay hills, starting Friday evening
or Saturday morning and lasting until Sunday afternoon.
In addition, weather forecasts from PG&E’s Wildfire Safety Operations
Center showed strong and intensifying winds in the Sacramento Valley and
North Bay beginning Friday night into Saturday, with sustained winds
between 15 and 30 mph, and local gusts of at least 40 mph. At the same
time, northeasterly winds will develop over the Sierra.
After a forecasted Saturday lull, winds are expected to pick back up
again beginning Saturday night through Sunday morning along the slopes
and foothills of the northern and central Sierra.
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.
Customers can also type in their address through PG&E’s Service Impact
Map (pge.com/eventmap)
to determine whether they’re affected.
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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Media Relations
415.973.5930
Source: Pacific Gas and Electric Company