Governor Gavin Newsom declared a statewide emergency on Sunday as wildfires have driven 200,00 people from their homes.
With a high wind warning called in on Saturday through Sunday and again for Tuesday through Wednesday, the all-too-familiar fire season in California may again wreak havoc throughout the state.
To help combat fire risk Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) has begun shutting off power to 38 counties in northern California as of Saturday afternoon and will go on until Monday. This will affect 940,000 PG&E customers.
Customers impacted by the Public Safety Power Shutoffs are encouraged to visit Community Resource Centers beginning at 8 a.m. on October 27th. and on 28th They will be provided restrooms, bottled water, electronic and medical device charging and A/C seating.
As of 4:30 p.m. on Monday 325,000 customers out of the 970,000 that got their power shutoff have had their power restored.
On Tuesday, PG&E will move forward with its Public Safety Power Shutoff for the remaining 605,000 customers in 29 counties.
PG&E has more than 20 preliminary reports of damage on its system due to the extreme winds, with 32,000 miles of electric systems still needing inspections before they can fully restore power to all areas.
More than 6,300 on-the ground-field personnel are available in case of an emergency and 46 helicopters stand ready too.
Around 100,000 additional PG&E customers lost power in areas that didn’t receive any power shutoffs. As of Monday at 4 p.m. 65,000 have had their power restored.
“During Public Safety Power Shutoffs you are reminded to approach intersections with caution, treat, non-working traffic signals as stop sign signs and be aware of your surroundings,” PG&E stated on the company’s official Twitter account.
People are also encouraged to make sure backup generators are properly installed and operated outdoors to avoid any hazardous use.
Ricardo Tovar can be reached at [email protected] or @rtovarg13 on Twitter.