SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.— Due to expected extreme fire danger conditions including, the Red Flag Warning from the National Weather Service and several other weather factors, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) today announced it may be proactively turning power off for safety and conducting a Public Safety Power Shutoff in several northern California cities within the next 24 hours.
PG&E could take the action of turning off the power for safety as early as late Saturday night into early Sunday morning. The greater likelihood is potentially turning off the power for safety in advance of Sunday evening wind event that is forecasted to last into Monday morning.
To help reduce the risk of wildfire and to keep our customers, their families and their homes and businesses safe, the company may be turning off power in parts of the following extreme fire risk areas:
• Lake County (Clearlake, Clearlake Oaks, Clearlake Park, Cobb, Finley, Hidden Valley Lake, Kelseyville, Lakeport, Lower Lake, Middletown)
• Napa County (Angwin, Calistoga, Deer Park, Lake Berryessa, Napa, Pope Valley, Saint Helena)
• Sonoma County (Cloverdale, Geyserville, Healdsburg, Santa Rosa)
• Yuba County (Brownsville, Camptonville, Challenge, Dobbins, Marysville, Oregon House, Strawberry Valley)
• Butte County (Berry Creek, Brush Creek, Clipper Mills, Feather Falls, Forbestown, Oroville)
• Sierra County (Alleghany, Downieville, Goodyears Bar, Pike City, Sierra City),
• Placer County (Alta, Applegate, Auburn, Baxter, Colfax, Dutch Flat, Emigrant Gap, Foresthill, Gold Run, Loomis, Meadow Vista, Weimar)
• Nevada County (Chicago Park, Grass Valley, Nevada City, North San Juan, Penn Valley, Rough and Ready, Soda Springs, Washington)
• El Dorado County (Aukum, Camino, Coloma, Cool, Diamond Springs, El Dorado, Fair Play, Garden Valley, Georgetown, Greenwood, Grizzly Flats, Kelsey, Kyburz, Mount Aukum, Omo Ranch, Pacific House, Placerville, Pollock Pines, Shingle Springs, Silver Fork, Somerset, Strawberry, Twin Bridges)
• Amador County (Fiddletown, Jackson, Pine Grove, Pioneer, Plymouth, Sutter Creek, Volcano)
• Plumas County (La Porte)
• Calaveras (Glencoe, Mokelumne Hill, Mountain Ranch, Rail Road Flat, West Point, Wilseyville)
We are working directly with first responders and state and local agencies to help prepare for this potential safety event. We are conducting outreach to customers in potentially affected areas and also doing special outreach to PG&E customers who are on Medical Baseline.
“The safety of our customers and the communities we serve is PG&E’s top priority. We know how much our customers rely on electric service and would only consider temporarily turning off power in the interest of safety, and as a last resort during extreme weather conditions. PG&E has a plan. We want our customers to have plans, too.” said Kevin Dasso, vice president of electric asset management.
When and where possible, PG&E will provide early warning notification as well as updates until power is restored. Extreme weather threats can change quickly. Out of an abundance of caution, PG&E is providing notice to customers in advance of this safety event through automated phone calls, texts, social media and emails effective immediately.
As part of these preparedness efforts, PG&E is asking customers to:
• Learn whether their home or business is in or near a high fire-threat area on the CPUC High Fire-Threat District map. Customers also can visit pge.com/wildfiresafety to enter their address and find out if their home or business is served by an electric line that may be turned off for safety during high wildfire threats.
• Update their contact information at pge.com/mywildfirealerts or by calling 1-866-743-6589 during normal business hours. PG&E will use this information to alert customers in advance of turning off their electric service for safety, when and where possible.
• Prepare for and practice an emergency plan to keep themselves, their families and/or employees emergency-ready and safe during an outage. Keep in mind family members who are elderly, younger children and pets. Information and tips including a safety plan checklist are available at pge.com/wildfiresafety.
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 www.pge.com/ and www.pge.com/en/about/newsroom/index.page.