SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. Oct. 20, 2019 – Pacific Gas and Electric Company activated its Emergency Operations Center at 6 p.m. Sunday night to monitor a potentially strong and dry offshore wind event Wednesday and Thursday of this week. PG&E’s meteorological and operations teams continue to actively monitor the weather system that could impact portions of the Sierra Foothills and the North Bay.
Due to the forecasted extreme weather conditions and dry fuels, PG&E is considering proactively turning off power for safety, and implementing a Public Safety Power Shutoff, across portions of 17 Sierra Foothills and North Bay counties. At this time, no PSPS has been called, and PG&E will provide updates several times a day.
Portions of counties that may be impacted include, but are not limited to: Amador, Butte, Colusa, El Dorado, Lake, Marin, Mendocino, Napa, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, San Joaquin, Solano, Sonoma, Tehama, Yolo and Yuba. This potential event, if initiated, is expected to be significantly smaller in terms of scope and impact than the Oct. 9-12 PSPS event.
The main period of weather risk is forecast to last about 18 to 24 hours, from Wednesday evening through mid-day Thursday. The dry, windy weather pattern is expected to unfold across the Northern Sierra, Sacramento Valley and the North Bay. The start of the event is more than 72 hours away, and PG&E’s meteorologists will continue to study updated weather forecast models 24/7 over coming days.
PG&E has opened its Emergency Operations Center in San Francisco. The status of PG&E’s 7-Day PSPS Potential Forecast has moved to “PSPS Watch,” indicating that there is a “reasonable chance of executing a PSPS to reduce public safety risk in a given geographic zone due to a combination of adverse weather and dry fuel conditions.”