The PSPS Edition – October 2019

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NEVADA CITY, Calif. October 8, 2019 – This story will be updated with any new information regarding the Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) event on October 9-11 2019. The regular Happening Now log will continue to chronicle other events.

October 12, 2019 at 4:08 PM

Less than 2,500 customers remain without power due to the PSPS, and the company expects that they will be restored later today, pending any need to repair damage found.

Restoration by County

October 12, 2019 at 10:16 AM

The McCourtney Road Transfer Station is now open to the public and will be operating under normal business hours.​

McCourtney Road Transfer Station is open Wednesday thru Sunday, 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

October 12, 2019 at 9:54 AM

An update from Nevada County Environmental Health for all food facilities:

• You are approved to go ahead and open if you were on a generator.
• You do not need to throw out any of the animal proteins as long as your refrigerator unit was 41° or below the entire time you were without power if you did not have a generator.
• Please discard all walk in refrigeration and reach-in refrigeration dairy animal proteins and cut vegetables and fruits.
• The Environmental Health Department asks that you sanitize all food contact surfaces before you begin food prep.

EH will be out to visit you as soon as possible but you do not need to wait for Environmental Health open and operate.

October 12, 2019 at 8:54 AM PG&E Community Resource Centers are open today during daylight hours or until power has been restored in areas where power restoration is not yet complete. Centers are open to provide water, phone charging stations, a/c & restrooms for customers.

PGE reported restoration percentages:

Restoration by County

October 11, 2019 at 4:20 PM

Nevada County Environmental Health Update for Food Facility Owner/Operators: YOU ARE APPROVED TO OPEN IF:
1. Your facility had generator power and natural gas-powered hot water; and
2. All PHF foods were held less than 41ºF for refrigeration and 0ºF for frozen; and
3. ALL surfaces within your facility have been sanitized.

If #2 was not met: All meats, prepared foods and/or pre-cooked foods, cut vegetables, juices or other PHFs are to be discarded if in reach-in or walk-in refrigeration units.

Please contact the Nevada County Environmental Health Department if you were unable to meet items #1 through #3 at (530) 265-1222 option 3.

October 11, 2019 at 3:30 PM YubaNet HQ has power again, the relief to be able to take a shower and make fresh coffee is immense.

October 11, 2019 at 12:27 PM Only 36% of customers affected by PG&E blackout in Nevada County have been restored as of noon today. 0% in Sierra County, 34% in Yuba County, 69% in Placer County. [Source: PG&E PSPS update]

Percentage of customers restored by county as of 12:00 p.m.:

* Other includes Fresno, Madera, Monterey, Sacramento, San Benito, San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara.

Damage to Equipment

PG&E has identified 23 instances of weather-related damage to its system in the PSPS-impacted areas, and the company is working to address these repairs.

October 11, 2019 at 9:11 AM The Grass Valley Veterans Building has received power, per Nevada County.

October 11, 2019 at 8:57 AM Nevada County’s Brighton Greens building and the Grass Valley Library – Royce Branch have received power. Brighton Greens will open to the public at 1PM and the Grass Valley Library – Royce Branch will open at 10AM.

October 11, 2019 at 8:55 AM Interfaith Food Ministries: Despite our power being out Interfaith Food Ministry will be open today for food distribution, for anyone who needs food. Location: 440 Henderson St. Grass Valley, CA

October 11, 2019 at 8:50 AM The Waste Management Transfer Station on McCourtney Road is still closed to the public. Waste Management is working hard to restore some systems that went down during the power outage, according to a spokesperson.

October 11, 2019 at 8:00 AM The restoration times posted on the PG&E outage maps were generated by their system automatically and do not reflect reality. As soon as a circuit is inspected and cleared, power will be restored.

October 11, 2019 at 7:45 AM Nevada County’s Brighton Greens building and the Grass Valley Library – Royce Branch are still without power and remain closed to the public. The Eric Rood Administrative Center is open.

October 11, 2019 at 7:19 AM The Sierra College Nevada County Campus in Grass Valley is closed for day and night classes on Friday, October 11 due to the PG&E power shut off and will remain closed through the weekend. We will provide the next update on status by 8 p.m. on Sunday, October 13. The Rocklin campus, Truckee Campus, and the Roseville center remain open. The Child Development Center at Sierra College is now closed.

October 11, 2019 at 6:57 AM PG&E will open Community Resource Centers on 10/11 @ 8 am. They will remain open during daylight hours or until power has been restored.

October 11, 2019 at 6:40 AM

Grass Valley School District:

Due to ongoing widespread power outages in our district boundaries, our schools and programs will be closed again today Friday, October 11th.

Lyman Gilmore Middle School
Margaret G. Scotten Elementary
Bell Hill Academy
Grass Valley Charter School
Lyman Gilmore Before and After school programs
Margaret G. Scotten Before and After school programs
Bell Hill Academy Before and After school programs
Our Kids Place Preschool
Little Learners Preschool

We are hopeful that power will be restored to all over the weekend and we can resume on Monday 10/14/19

October 11, 2019 at 6:35 AM

The following schools are open today, Friday Oct 11:

Earle Jamieson
Nevada Cty Sup of Schools Office
Bitney Charter
Forest Charter
Forest Lake Christian

The following schools remain closed due to limited or no power:
Clear Creek
Chicago Park
Grass Valley School Dist
Penn Valley School Dist
Pleasant Ridge School District
Nevada City School Dist
Nevada Joint Union High School District

Sierra Academy (SAEL)
TKM Twin Ridges School Dist

Union Hill

Yuba River Charter School

Ghidotti High school will have their scheduled field trip.
NU will play their scheduled AWAY game.

Child Development Center at Sierra College is now closed.

October 10, 2019 at 7:12 PM The Power is back on in downtown Nevada City.

October 10, 2019 at 6:37 PM The circuit at Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital has been restored.

October 10, 2019 at 3:14 PM PG&E has received the weather “all clear” for portions of Nevada County. PG&E crews will begin inspecting lines for potential weather-related damage before restoring power.

October 10, 2019 at 3:01 PMThe McCourtney Road Transfer Station is closed to the public today due to complications related to the PG&E power outage.

October 10, 2019 at 2:15 PM Reports of traditional AT&T landlines failing are multiplying.   We have reached out to the company for an 4xplanation. Most likely, the battery packs in their remote terminals are depleted, but we are trying to confirm.

October 10, 2019 at 2:12 PM Nevada County Transit Services (Gold Country Stage and Lift) are running normal operations and schedules. We have a couple of minor route detours as noted on the Gold Country Stage website (www.goldcountrystage.com), but we are running normal service hours and routes.

October 10, 2019 at 2:15 PM The Environmental Health Department will be working with each food facility in Nevada County that has lost power due to the PSPS. If you are a food facility that has a generator to power your refrigeration units and supply hot water to your facility, the Environmental Health Department requests that if you reopen, you first sanitize all food surfaces and discard all food product that remained in the temperature danger zone (41F -135F) for more than 4 hours. Please document your refrigeration temps and provide a listing of all foods discarded.
Facilities that are under a State permit may reopen once they have state approval but the Enviornmental Health Department asks that all food contact surfaces are sanitized prior to operation. We thank all of our operators and appreciate your efforts during this PSPS event.

October 10, 2019 at 12:30 PM Please note: this list is not comprehensive and may be subject to change. 2-1-1 has been collecting information about which businesses are open. If you are a business and/or gas station, call 2-1-1 or 1-833-DIAL-211 if you are open.

As of 10/10 at 10:30AM:

Local stores that are open:
• CVS at Highway 49 and Combie
• Subway at Highway 49 and Combie
• Ace Hardware Lake of the Pines
• Combie Deli – no ice, no prepared foods
• Alta Sierra gas station store is open – no ice, cash only NO GAS
• Best Gas Store Combie and 49 – NO GAS, no ice, cash only
• Chevron at McKnight – NO GAS, no ice, cash only
• Raley’s – no ice
• Safeway at Brunswick
• Shell on Penn Valley – no gas, store open, no ice
• Golden Empire Market in Grass Valley – no ice
• Safeway on S Auburn – HAS ice
• Cal Organics

• Mother Truckers – ice!
• The Country Store – ice!
• Natural Selection – has ice

Gas Stations- lines at all locations:
• Chevron at 49 and Combie
• Nevada City Gas – cash only
• Robinson gas – cash only
• 76 Gas State at Lake Wildwood – cash and card

Propane:
• Ferrelgas is delivering
• Amerigas is delivering
• HBE Rentals is selling propane

Lodging:
• Holiday Lodge in Grass Valley – Open, No Power
• Outside Inn Nevada City, CA – No Power Hot Water
• Inn Town Campground Nevada City – Generator Power for club house, Hot water
• Courtyard Suites Grass Valley – Limited rooms with Heat; No Guarantee of hot water
• Sierra Mountain Inn Grass Valley – No Hot Water Emergency Situations Only
• Harmony Ridge Lodge Nevada City – Generator for Power Propane for Hot Water

October 10, 2019 at 11:55 AM Safety Message: Portable generators should never be run indoors! Exhaust gases accumulate in rooms quickly and CO is poisonous to humans and pets. Never use a generator indoors or in enclosed spaces such as garages, crawl spaces, and basements. NOTE: Open windows and doors may NOT prevent CO from building up when a generator is located in an enclosed space. Please be safe and follow CAL OSHA’s guidelines, available here.

October 10, 2019 at 11:20 AM California Organics on Argall Way in Nevada City is open until 6:00 pm at least.

October 10, 2019 at 11:12 AM Nevada County update: National Weather Service Sacramento continues to issue a Red Flag Warning today due to ongoing projected strong winds – please continue to practice fire safe behavior.  PG&E still plans to begin assessing power lines for re-energization between 12 and 2 today, however the time frame for local power restoration is still unknown.

October 10, 2019 at 10:35 AM Fuel for generators at the Nevada County Airport is running low. Please try other gas stations including Nevada City Gas, Robinsons, 76 in Penn Valley, and Chevron at Combie.

October 10, 2019 at 9:47 AM KVMR is back on air at 89.5 FM

October 10, 2019 at 8:23 AM KVMR is experiencing power issues, they appear to be ff the air at this time.

October 10, 2019 at 7:19 AM The Sierra College Nevada County Campus (NCC) in Grass Valley is closed for day and night classes on Thursday, October 10 due to the PG&E power shut off. While NCC is not open for classes, the campus continues to serve as a location for a PG&E Community Resource Center. Rocklin, Roseville, and Truckee campuses remain open.

October 10, 2019 at 6:47 AM The Food Bank of Nevada County will hold an Emergency Food Distribution at the Rood Center in Nevada City TODAY! Anyone who needs food may attend! 10am-1pm.

October 10, 2019 at 6:30 AM Camptonville School is closed today, Thursday October 10th due to the power outage.

October 8, 2019 at 9:30 PM

To support customers in the affected areas, PG&E will open Community Resource Centers in several locations beginning on Wednesday, Oct. 9, at 8 a.m. The centers will remain open during daylight hours only. Restrooms, bottled water, electronic-device charging and air-conditioned seating for up to 100 will be available at these facilities.

Centers will be opened at the locations below:

October 8, 2019 at 7:37 PM

On a press call with PG&E, the Vice President of Asset and Risk Management and Community Wildfire Safety Program stated power could be off 5 days or more if their equipment is damaged.

October 8, 2019 at 7:28 PM Caltrans is preparing for widespread power outages beginning at midnight as PG&E cuts power to reduce the risk of wildfire.

Due to severe wind concerns in Butte, Colusa, El Dorado, Glenn, Nevada, Placer, Sierra, Yolo and Yuba Counties, PG&E may potentially cut power beginning at midnight Wednesday, October 9 through midday Thursday, October 10.

October 8, 2019 at 7:20 PM

Nevada County has activated 211 Connecting Point’s call center as the Public Information Line for the County’s Emergency Operations Center. Call 211 Connecting Point, not 911, for any Nevada County non-emergency questions about the Red Flag Warning and PG&E Public Safety Power Shutoff.

Dial 2-1-1 or 1-844-319-4119 to speak with a local 211 call specialist to find information on food and generator safety, local resources, and emergency event information.

WASTEWATER OPERATIONS DURING POWER OUTAGES: Penn Valley, Lake Wildwood, Eden Ranch, Lake of the Pines, Darkhorse

OPERATION OF EQUIPMENT
During power outages, sewer systems that operate on private pump tanks within the communities of Penn Valley, Lake Wildwood, Eden Ranch, Lake of the Pines and Dark Horse, will not be functional. All wastewater deposited into the tank will simply accumulate and have nowhere to go, potentially creating overflows and hazardous spills.

WATER CONSERVATION
It is imperative that during these extended power outages , residents conserve water usage as much as possible. This includes flushing of toilets, wastewater from sinks, tubs and showers as well as laundry and dishwashers.

USE OF GENERATORS
Pump tanks will not be operational until either power is restored or unless the system has been professionally added to a whole-house, back-up generator by a licensed electrical contractor. It is highly discouraged that portable generators be used to operate pump tanks.

ALARMS
Once power is restored, be prepared for alarms to go off on systems. It is not necessary to contact the Sanitation District regarding the alarm once the power has been restored unless it is in conjunction with a spill. Field technicians will be making the rounds at that time and checking on systems throughout the District.

OVERFLOWS & SPILLS
If an overflow or spill occurs, please immediately contact the Sanitation District at (530) 265-1555.

We ask that residents are patient during this event and once power is restored. We greatly appreciate your cooperation.

Thank you,
Nevada County Sanitation District No. 1

October 8, 2019 at 3:22 PM Food Safety Related to Power Outages. Here are tips for residents on how to safely deal with food in your fridge after a power outage,

October 8, 2019 at 3:21 PM What to Do… If there is a power outage in your Food Facility. Nevada County Environmental Health is providing this information for food facilities, i.e. restaurants, retail stores.

October 8, 2019 at 1:34 PM PG&E Will Proactively Turn Off Power for Safety to Nearly 800,000 Customers Across Northern and Central California.

October 8, 2019 at 9:31 AM  The National Weather Service in Sacramento has issued a Red Flag Warning, which is in effect from 5 AM Wednesday to 5 PM PDT Thursday. The Fire Weather Watch is no longer in effect.

Affected Area: The Northern and North Central Sierra Nevada below 6000 feet and foothills.

Wind: North to northeast wind 15 to 25 mph with gusts 40 to 50 mph, locally higher in canyons and over exposed ridges.

Humidity: Daytime minimum humidities mainly in the teens with poor overnight recoveries of 25 to 35 percent Wednesday night.

Highest Threat: The Northern and North Central Sierra Nevada and foothills below 4000 feet.

A strong north to northeast wind event is likely across northern California early Wednesday morning continuing through Thursday.   This will be the strongest wind event for the region this season. Dry conditions combined with the strong, gusty winds will bring extreme fire concerns to much of the area.  The strongest Valley winds look to be early Wednesday through Wednesday evening, with the strongest winds over the foothills and higher terrain Wednesday evening into Thursday. Very low relative humidity values are expected each day, with poor overnight recoveries. Winds decrease Friday and dry weather continues through the weekend.