PG&E Power Shutoff Latest For Napa Co.: 74K In North Bay Affected

NAPA COUNTY, CA — The first of three phases in a widespread PG&E public safety power outage was implemented early Wednesday morning, leaving more than 74,000 customers in the North Bay and 513,000 across Northern California in the dark. The utility giant started cutting power at 12 a.m. across significant portions of its service territory, including in Napa, Sonoma, Solano, Marin, Yolo, Lake, Mendocino and Colusa counties.

Solano, Sonoma and Napa counties the hardest hit as of 2 a.m. Wednesday. The city of Fairfield had 17,963 customers powerless, while 13,665 were without power in Vacaville. The outage was affecting 19,357 PG&E customers in Napa, 15,925 in the city of Sonoma, 6,685 in St. Helena and 3,321 in Calistoga.

In Santa Rosa, 8,140 customers were affected, while in Rohnert Park there were 2,105 without power. Sausalito had 2,564 affected by the outage, while 2,034 in Tamalpais-Homestead Valley had no electric service.

Several unincorporated areas in Napa, Marin, Solano and Sonoma counties were also hit hard with power outages.

The city of Sonoma Police Department said all of the city of Sonoma, as well as communities in the Sonoma Valley, are without power. Intersections are operating as four-way stops in the city of Sonoma, police said.

The city of Fairfield Police Department asked residents to "not just drive through the intersection. Look both ways before you proceed."

The Napa County Office of Emergency Services at 6:29 a.m. said that because of the outage, "many traffic lights are not working."

In Calistoga, the city said at 7 a.m. that its generators were down. PG&E is aware of the problem and is working with the city to resolve the situation but there was no time for restoration, city officials said.

For Napa County residents affected by the outage, PG&E has opened Community Resource Centers at the Calistoga Fairgrounds, 1601 N. Oak in Calistoga and in the Six Flags Discovery Kingdom Parking Lot at 1001 Fairgrounds Drive in Vallejo.

PG&E officials say these spots will remain open during daylight hours and provide access to restrooms, bottled water, electronic-device charging and air-conditioned seating for up to 100 people.

For those affected by the power loss, Napa County is operating a Public Information Line from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily at 707-299-1501, and has opened charging centers where they can charge their medical and electronic devices from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily — unless otherwise noted — until power is fully restored, which PG&E has said can take up to five days.

• Pacific Union College - Fireside Room: 1 Angwin Ave., Angwin, 94508
• Yountville Community Center: 6516 Washington St., Yountville, 94599
• Lake Berryessa Senior Center: 4380 Spanish Flat Loop Rd., Napa, 94558
• Crosswalk Church: 2590 1st St., Napa, 94558
• Las Flores Community Center: 4300 Linda Vista Ave., Napa, 94558
• Napa County Main Library: 580 Coombs St. Ste 1, Napa, CA 94559 (Mon-Thurs 10
• a.m. - 9 p.m., Fri and Sat 10 a.m. - 6 p.m., Sunday 1-5 p.m.)
• Napa County Office of Education - 2121 Imola Ave, Napa, CA 94559 (Open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.)
• Calistoga Police Department: 1235 Washington St, Calistoga, CA 94515 (Open 24 hours)
• Calistoga Fire Department: 1113 Washington St, Calistoga, CA 94515 (Open 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.)
• Upper Valley Campus of Napa Valley College, 1088 College Ave., St. Helena, CA

In Sonoma, a charging center is open at the Sonoma Veteran's Building, 126 1st St W. between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m.

In Lake County, a PG&E community resource center is open at the Clearlake Senior Center, 3245 Bowers Ave. in Clearlake.

As for hospitals in Sonoma and Napa counties, the facilities have not been affected by the shutoff. Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital, Petaluma Valley Hospital in Petaluma and Queen of the Valley Hospital in Napa are fully operational, said Christian Hill, a spokesman for the organization St. Joseph Health that oversees the hospitals.

Hill said pockets in the cities of Sonoma and Napa had a power shutdown, but the hospitals were not affected.

A spokesman for Sutter Santa Rosa Regional Hospital said the hospital did not have power shut off and is operating normally.

PG&E said it made the decision to turn off power based on forecasts of dry, hot and windy weather including potential fire risk. PG&E anticipates the weather event, which includes a red flag warning for the North Bay and East Bay, will last through midday Thursday.

Other counties impacted by the first phase early Wednesday morning included: Amador, Butte, Calaveras, El Dorado, Glenn, Humboldt, Marin, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Shasta, Sierra, Tehama, Trinity and Yuba counties.

The second phase, according to PG&E, will start around noon Wednesday and will impact another 234,000 customers in Contra Costa, Santa Clara, Alameda, San Mateo, Alpine, Mariposa and San Joaquin counties.

"A third phase is being considered for the southernmost portions of PG&E’s service area, impacting approximately 42,000 customers," said PG&E Spokeswoman Deanna Contreras.

Peak winds forecasted from Wednesday morning through Thursday morning and reaching 60 to 70 mph at higher elevations.

"The safety of our customers and the communities we serve is our most important responsibility, which is why PG&E has decided to turn power off to customers during this widespread, severe wind event," said Michael Lewis, PG&E’s senior vice president of Electric Operations.

"We understand the effects this event will have on our customers and appreciate the public’s patience as we do what is necessary to keep our communities safe and reduce the risk of wildfire," Lewis said.

Food & Medication Safety During A Power Outage

The Napa County Public Health Division provided the following information about food and medication safety:

During a prolonged power outage, your food may become unsafe to eat and increase your risk of illness. Medications that need to be refrigerated may also become less effective or stop working. It is important to plan ahead and protect your health during a power outage.

— If you are not certain food is safe, throw it out.

— If you have lost power for a prolonged period of time, discard the contents of your refrigerator/freezer:

• Perishable food such as meat, poultry, seafood, milk, and eggs that are not kept adequately refrigerated or frozen may cause illness if consumed, even when they are thoroughly cooked. The decision whether to discard or to save food is listed in the guide, “Refrigerated Food and Power Outages: When to Save It and When to Throw It Out.”
• Refrigerated food should be safe as long as the power was out for no more than 4 hours and the
• refrigerator door was kept shut. Discard any perishable food (such as meat, poultry, fish, eggs, or leftovers) that has been at temperatures above 40° F for 2 hours or more (or 1 hour if temperatures are above 90º F).

— Some drugs require refrigeration to keep their strength, including many liquid drugs.

• When the power is out for a day or more, throw away any medication that should be refrigerated, unless the drug’s label says otherwise.
• If a life depends on the refrigerated drug, but the medications have been at room temperature, use them only until a new supply is available.
• Replace all refrigerated drugs as soon as possible.
• Consult your pharmacist with questions about medication storage and maintaining a supply during a prolonged outage. A list of commonly used refrigerated medications and the length of stability is listed in the following guide.

Patch will update this post throughout the day Wednesday as more information is gathered; please refresh the page for the latest.

— Bay City News Service contributed to this report.