SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. October 27, 2019 -Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) announced today that its meteorological and operations teams in its Emergency Operations Center continue to monitor a new, potentially widespread, strong and dry wind event forecasted for Tuesday morning through midday Wednesday for Northern California. The weather system is forecast to impact Kern County late Tuesday night through Thursday morning. 

Potential Tuesday/Wednesday Public Safety Power Shutoff

The event will impact approximately 32 counties across the Northern and Southern Sierra, North Bay, Bay Area and Santa Cruz mountains, North Coast and Kern County. This weather event is a separate system from the one that triggered the October 26 Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) event that is still active. This is the third consecutive significant wind event in a week’s time.

In response to this anticipated event, Northern Operative Predictive Services has issued a high risk of significant fires for a geographical footprint that covers much of PG&E’s service area. The National Interagency Fire Center’s Geographic Area Coordination Center is also forecasting significant fire potential across Northern California beginning on Tuesday of this week.

Potential Impact

Due to the forecasted extreme weather conditions, PG&E is considering proactively turning off power for safety. Portions of counties that may be impacted include, but are not limited to: Alameda, Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Colusa, Contra Costa, El Dorado, Glenn, Humboldt, Kern, Lake, Marin, Mariposa, Mendocino, Napa, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Shasta, Sierra, Solano, Sonoma, Stanislaus, Tehama, Trinity, Tuolumne, Yolo, Yuba.

It is important to know that while customers in portions of these counties may be impacted by PSPS, all customers need to be prepared for potential outages due to equipment damage, hazards and continuously evolving weather.

Potential PSPS Timing

The period of weather risk starts Tuesday and continues through Thursday morning. The dry, windy weather pattern is expected to reach from the northern portions of PG&E’s service territory and down through the Sacramento Valley, before spreading into the central areas of the state, including the Bay Area.

PG&E will make every effort to restore power to as many customers as possible who are currently out of power due to the Oct. 26 PSPS event. However, due to the dynamic and changing weather conditions, and high fire risk, some customers who are currently out of power may remain out throughout the duration of the next potential PSPS event.

For those customers able to have their power restored between events, PG&E urges them to use the opportunity to charge any medical equipment, phones and other electronic devices and restock emergency kits.

Some customers may continue to be impacted by the PSPS event, while others may experience power outages due to weather damage to the electric system.

PG&E will continue to monitor weather conditions and will be providing additional information regarding affected areas.

PG&E Community Resource Centers

PG&E will provide Community Resource Centers in key areas that may have continuing impacts due to the Oct. 26 PSPS event and the potential new event. To view the current list, click here.