CA Wildfires: PG&E Warns Of Power Shutoffs In Solano County

SOLANO COUNTY, CA — Pacific Gas and Electric Company' meteorologists and operations professionals are monitoring a potential dry offshore wind event forecasted to start Tuesday evening, Aug. 17.

Because of the likely wind event and current conditions, which includes extreme to exceptional drought and extremely dry vegetation, the power company has begun sending 48-hour advance notifications to customers in targeted areas where it may need to proactively turn power off for safety to reduce the risk of wildfire from energized power lines.

Potential Public Safety Power Shutoff Tuesday Night

According to PG&E, the potential Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS) event starting Tuesday night could affect approximately 39,000 customers in small portions of 16 counties in the Sierra Nevada foothills, the North Coast, the North Valley and the North Bay mountains. While the majority of customers—about 27,000—are in Butte and Shasta counties.

PG&E said it is also notifying customers who may experience safety shutoffs in portions of 14 other counties: Glenn, Humboldt, Lake, Lassen, Mendocino, Napa, Plumas, Sierra, Solano, Sonoma, Tehama, Trinity, Yolo and Yuba.

The potential PSPS event is approximately 48 hours away and conditions may change. PG&E's in-house meteorologists, as well as its Wildfire Safety Operations Center and Emergency Operations Center, continue to closely monitor conditions. We will share additional customer notifications as conditions evolve.

Customer notifications—via text, email and automated phone call—began Sunday evening, approximately two days prior to the potential shutoff. PG&E employees will pay individual, in-person visits when possible to customers enrolled in the company's Medical Baseline program who do not verify that they have received these important safety communications, with a primary focus on customers who rely on electricity for critical life-sustaining equipment.

Potentially Affected Counties
Customers can look up their address online to find out if their location is being monitored for the potential safety shutoff at www.pge.com/pspsupdates.

PG&E said the potential shutoff is currently expected to affect approximately 39,000 customers across the following counties:

• Butte County: 13,841 customers, 1,366 Medical Baseline customers
• Glenn County: 17 customers, 2 Medical Baseline customers
• Humboldt County: 643 customers, 13 Medical Baseline customers
• Lake County: 2,727 customers, 184 Medical Baseline customers
• Lassen County: 65 customers, 7 Medical Baseline customers
• Mendocino County: 239 customers, 15 Medical Baseline customers
• Napa County: 1,804 customers, 87 Medical Baseline customers
• Plumas County: 778 customers, 27 Medical Baseline customers
• Shasta County: 14,027 customers, 1,239 Medical Baseline customers
• Sierra County: 1,035 customers, 30 Medical Baseline customers
• Solano County: 71 customers, 3 Medical Baseline customers
• Sonoma County: 106 customers, 1 Medical Baseline customer
• Tehama County: 2,856 customers, 219 Medical Baseline customers
• Trinity County: 426 customers, 21 Medical Baseline customers
• Yolo County: 100 customers, 4 Medical Baseline customers
• Yuba County: 531 customers, 49 Medical Baseline customers