Preliminary Review Confirms More than 100 Incidents of Damage and Hazard Locations; Photos Available Online, More Expected in Coming Days

October 16, 2019 - SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. — Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) yesterday released photos of wind-related damage and hazards that were found during inspections following last week’s Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS). The company is making these findings available on its website at pge.com/pspsupdates as the reviews are completed, with more expected in the coming days.

The 100-plus incidents of damage or hazards were spread widely across PG&E's PSPS footprint. Wind gusts exceeded 50 mph in 16 of the 35 counties in the PSPS footprint, and damage or hazards were found in nearly all of them. It is possible that these damages and hazards represented potential sources of wildfire ignition.

Some examples:

• In Glenn County, a large tree limb was found lying across an electric line.
• In Napa County, a large tree limb was found tangled with a span of wires.
• In Santa Clara County, a very large tree branch fell through lines connected to a house.
• In Santa Cruz County, a tree fell across the lines.
• In Shasta County, a large tree fell into the lines pulling a utility pole from its foundation.

PG&E teams continue to review the reports from safety inspections of 25,000 miles of distribution lines and 2,500 miles of transmission lines, a combined distance that's longer than a trip around the Earth.  As additional information and insights are gathered, the company will make the findings available on its website (pge.com/pspsupdates) until the review is complete.

"While we understand and recognize the major disruption this PSPS event imposed on our customers and the general public, these findings suggest that we made the right call, and importantly no catastrophic wildfires were started," said Michael Lewis, PG&E's senior vice president of Electric Operations.

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 nearly 16 million people in Northern and Central California. For more information, visit pge.com and pge.com/news.
Source: PG&E