50,000 Customers Restored from First Phase of Safety Shutoffs Second Phase of Shutoffs Has Begun for 234,000 in Sierra Foothills and Bay Area Improving Weather Means Safety Inspections in Some Areas of Humboldt Have Started Kern County Impacts in Kern County Reduced to Approximately 4,000
October 10, 2019 - SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) is sharing important updates related to the Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) that has been implemented across portions of its service area as a precautionary measure to reduce the risk of wildfire during a widespread, severe wind event impacting its service area.
The latest updates include:
- PG&E has now restored power to approximately 50,000 customers in the Sierra Foothills since the shutoff began.
- Improving weather means patrols in some areas of Humboldt County have started. PG&E anticipates being able to restore power to 60,000 to 80,000 customers tonight or early Thursday morning. Patrols take place during daytime hours and will resume at daybreak.
- The second phase of the PSPS event began this afternoon and will to continue into the evening. Approximately 234,000 customers will be impacted during this phase in the following counties: Alameda, Alpine, Contra Costa, Mariposa, San Joaquin, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Stanislaus, and Tuolumne. Outages are expected to happen in two waves, with the East Bay, South Bay and Santa Cruz counties being impacted later tonight.
- The first phase of shutoffs impacted approximately 513,000 customers in the following counties: Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Colusa, El Dorado, Glenn, Humboldt, Lake, Marin, Mendocino, Napa, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Shasta, Sierra, Solano, Sonoma, Tehama, Trinity, Yolo and Yuba counties. Some additional customers in Calaveras and Mendocino were included in the second phase.
- A third phase is being considered for portions of Kern County. Due to changing weather forecasts, PG&E now expects this event to impact approximately 4,000 customers. Earlier forecasts predicted impacts to 43,000 customers.
Additional resources are poised to support the restoration process, including 45 helicopters and more than 6,300 on-the-ground field personnel. Inspections, repairs and restoration can begin once the weather event has passed and it is safe to do so. PG&E expects that the weather to subside around midday Thursday in the Sierra Foothills and the Bay Area/Santa Cruz. Weather conditions in the Kern/Bakersfield area are forecasted to improve into midday Friday.
The decision to turn off power was based on forecasts of dry, windy weather including potential fire risk.
"We understand that this power shutoff is difficult for our customers and communities. Please check on your neighbors, friends and family and know that we will work safely, and quickly as possible, to restore power across the region," said Sumeet Singh, vice president, PG&E Community Wildfire Safety Program. "Our meteorological and operations teams are actively monitoring the weather and this evolving situation, and we are working directly with state and local agencies to help our customers and communities through this event safely.
Community Resource Centers
| County | City | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Butte | Oroville | Bird Street School, 1421 Bird St, Oroville 95965 |
| Butte | Magalia | 14144 Lakeridge Court, Magalia 95954 |
| El Dorado | Placerville | El Dorado Fairgrounds 100 Placerville Drive, Placerville 95667 |
| Lake | Clear Lake | Clearlake Senior Center 3245 Bowers Avenue, Clearlake 95422 |
| Napa | Napa | Six Flags Discovery Kingdom Park – 1001 Fairgrounds Drive, Vallejo CA 94589 |
| Napa | Calistoga | Calistoga Fairgrounds - 1601 N. Oak Calistoga 94515 |
| Santa Clara | San Jose | Avaya Stadium 1123 Coleman Avenue, San Jose 95110 |
| Nevada | Grass Valley | Sierra College Grass Valley 250 Sierra College Drive, Grass Valley 95945 |
| Contra Costa | San Ramon | Bishop Ranch Parking Lot – 2600 Camino Ramon, San Ramon 94583 |
| Calaveras | Arnold | Meadowmont Shopping Center - 2182 HWY 4, Arnold 95223 |
| San Mateo | Half Moon Bay | Pasta Moon Restaurant, 845 Main St Half Moon Bay 94019 |
| Placer | Auburn | Gold Country Fairgrounds 1273 High Street Auburn 95603 |
| Shasta, Tehama | Redding, Cottonwood, Red Bluff | Shasta College, 11555 Old Oregon Trail Redding 96003 |
| Solano | Vacaville | Mission Church 6391 Leisure Town Road, Vacaville 95687 |
| Sonoma | Santa Rosa, Sonoma | Santa Rosa Veterans Memorial Building 1351 Maple Ave, Santa Rosa 95404 |
| Alameda | Oakland | Merritt College LOT B – Leona St., Oakland 94508 |
| Tuolumne | Sonora | Mother Lode Fairgrounds 220 Southgate Drive, Sonora 95370 |
| Santa Cruz | Aptos | Twin Lakes Church 2701 Cabrillo College Dr, Aptos 95003 |
| Amador | Pioneer | Mace Meadows Golf Course, 26570 Fairway Drive Pioneer 95666 |
| Mendocino | Ukiah | 1775 N. State Street, Ukiah 95482 |
| Yolo | Winters | Next to PG&E Gas Academy - Intersection of E. Grant Avenue & Timber Crest Road, Winters 95694 |
| Colusa, Glenn | Williams, Orland | 839 Newville Road, Orland 95963 |
| Mariposa | Coulterville | Coulterville Fire Dept - 10293 Ferry Road, Coulterville 95311 |
| Sierra | Sierra City | Loganville Campground parking lot - HWY 49, Sierra City 96125 |
| Stanislaus | Westley | Westley Hotel - 8615 CA-33, Westley 95387 |
| Plumas | La Porte | 2140 Main St. La Porte 95981 |
| El Dorado | El Dorado Hills | Rolling Hills Christian Church 800 White Rock Road, El Dorado Hills 95762 |
| Yuba | Oregon House | 9185 Marysville Road, Oregon House 95962 |
To support customers in the affected areas, PG&E opened Community Resource Centers in several locations beginning at 8 a.m. today. The centers will remain open during daylight hours until power has been restored. Restrooms, bottled water, electronic-device charging and air-conditioned seating for up to 100 will be available at these facilities.
Additional Community Resource Centers are planned to open on Thursday, October 10, at 8:00 a.m.:
| County | City | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Marin | Sausalito | Marin Gateway Shopping Center –150 Donohue St., Sausalito, CA 94965 |
| Humboldt | Eureka | Redwood Acres Fairgrounds – 3750 Harris Street, Eureka 95503 |
| Kern | Bakersfield | Buck Owens Crystal Palace – 2800 Buck Owens, Blvd., Bakersfield, CA 93308 |
| Sonoma | Sonoma | Hanna Boys Center – 17000 Arnold Drive, Sonoma, CA 95476 |
The Public Safety Power Shutoff program is one component of PG&E's overall Community Wildfire Safety Program, designed to further reduce wildfire risks and help keep our customers and the communities we serve safe. The ongoing and expanded efforts include further enhancing vegetation management around power lines, conducting accelerated safety inspections of electric infrastructure in high fire-threat areas, and hardening our electric system. For details on the Community Wildfire Safety Program, see www.pge.com/wildfiresafety.
Customers are encouraged to review safety tips at PG&E's Safety Action Center at www.safetyactioncenter.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 20,000 employees, the company delivers some of the nation's cleanest energy to 16 million people in Northern and Central California. For more information, visit www.pge.com and www.pge.com/news.
Source: PG&E
