LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – With gusting winds moving across Northern California, Pacific Gas and Electric said Sunday afternoon that it plans to begin turning off power in the Sierra Foothills and in the North Bay’s communities including Lake County for safety purposes, with power in some area remaining off until as late as Tuesday.
A red flag warning and a wind advisory issued by the National Weather Service both remain in effect for Lake County, until 11 a.m. Monday.
In response, PG&E said it’s going to begin proactively turning off power for safety to some 87,000 customers as part of a Public Safety Power Shutoff in portions of several Northern California communities as early as 5 p.m. and continuing throughout the evening.
PG&E said it plans to first turn off power in two phases, beginning in the following extreme fire-risk areas – a total of about 70,000 customers in the following Sierra Foothills communities:
– Butte County (Berry Creek, Brush Creek, Clipper Mills, Feather Falls, Forbestown, Oroville);
– Sierra County (Alleghany, Downieville, Goodyears Bar, Pike City, Sierra City);
– Placer County (Alta, Applegate, Auburn, Baxter, Colfax, Dutch Flat, Emigrant Gap, Foresthill, Gold Run, Loomis, Meadow Vista, Weimar);
– Nevada County (Chicago Park, Grass Valley, Nevada City, North San Juan, Penn Valley, Rough and Ready, Soda Springs, Washington);
– El Dorado County (Aukum, Camino, Coloma, Cool, Diamond Springs, El Dorado, Fair Play, Garden Valley, Georgetown, Greenwood, Grizzly Flats, Kelsey, Kyburz, Mount Aukum, Omo Ranch, Pacific House, Placerville, Pollock Pines, Shingle Springs, Silver Fork, Somerset, Strawberry, Twin Bridges);
– Amador County (Fiddletown, Jackson, Pine Grove, Pioneer, Plymouth, Sutter Creek, Volcano)
Plumas County (La Porte);
– Calaveras County (Glencoe, Mokelumne Hill, Mountain Ranch, Rail Road Flat, West Point, Wilseyville); and
– Yuba County (Brownsville, Camptonville, Challenge, Dobbins, Marysville, Oregon House, Strawberry Valley).
In the second phase of the Public Safety Power Shutoff, PG&E said that later on Sunday night, as the weather continues to progress, it plans to turn off power to communities in the North Bay, affecting about 17,000 customers.
The impacted communities in that second phase shutoff are:
– Lake County (Clearlake, Clearlake Oaks, Clearlake Park, Cobb, Finley, Hidden Valley Lake, Kelseyville, Lakeport, Lower Lake, Middletown);
– Napa County (Angwin, Calistoga, Deer Park, Lake Berryessa, Napa, Pope Valley, Saint Helena); and
– Sonoma County (Cloverdale, Geyserville, Healdsburg, Santa Rosa).
PG&E said it is working directly with first responders and other state and local agencies to prepare for this safety event.
When the extreme weather has passed and conditions are safe, PG&E crews will visually inspect the lines for any necessary repairs and safely restore power to customers.
PG&E said most customers are expected to be restored by Monday night with some outages potentially lasting into Tuesday.
In making a decision whether to turn off power, PG&E considers a combination of criteria, including:
– A red flag warning declared by the National Weather Service;
– Low humidity levels, generally 20 percent and below;
– Sustained winds above approximately 25 miles per hour and wind gusts in excess of approximately 45 miles per hour;
– Site-specific conditions such as temperature, terrain and local climate;
– Condition of dry fuel on the ground and live vegetation (moisture content); and
– On-the-ground, real-time observations from PG&E field crews.
PG&E plans to turn off power in Sierra Foothills and North Bay Sunday evening; outages could last until Tuesday
- Lake County News reports
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