PG&E Restores Power In Sonoma Co., Works To Restore Napa Co.

NORTH BAY, CA— UPDATED: Power was restored as of 4 p.m. Wednesday to 700 Sonoma County customers in unincorporated Santa Rosa following a public safety power shutoff implemented by the utility company early Wednesday morning amid critical fire weather conditions.

Although PG&E initially thought it might not be able to restore electric service to all affected Sonoma County customers until Thursday, all equipment related to the public safety power shutoff in the North Bay county has been patrolled, enabling the utility company to restore power, according to Deanna Contreras, spokesperson for PG&E in Sonoma County.

"We’re working to safely restore Napa County," Contreras said via email at 4:15 p.m. "We have crews all across the valley patrolling and inspecting and helicopters patrolling from the air."

ORIGINAL POST: Amid weather conditions that bring a critical risk of wildfires, a public safety power shutoff started early Wednesday morning for 48,200 PG&E customers in seven Northern California counties, the utility company confirmed.

The affected customers, which include approximately 1,400 in Napa and Sonoma counties, were previously notified of an impending power shutoff event based on forecasts of dry, hot and windy weather, according to Deanna Contreras, spokesperson for PG&E in the North Bay.

The power was shut off between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m. Wednesday to approximately 700 customers in unincorporated Santa Rosa in Sonoma County, and another 700 customers with addresses in the Calistoga, Lake Berryessa and Napa areas, Contreras said.

Around the same time Wednesday morning, power also went out for 46,800 customers in five Sierra Foothills counties of Butte, Nevada, Placer, Plumas and Yuba.

According to PG&E, once the weather subsides and it is safe to do so, PG&E crews will begin patrolling power lines, repairing damaged equipment and restoring customers.

A red flag warning for the North Bay was set to expire at 11 a.m. Wednesday, while a heat advisory was expected to remain in effect until 7 p.m., according to the National Weather Service San Francisco Bay Area.

"In the area impacted by the PSPS, PG&E will need to conduct safety inspections of approximately 2,785 miles of transmission and distribution lines, which is equivalent to the driving distance from Sacramento to Philadelphia," Contreras said.

Restoration activities can only take place during daylight hours, so it’s likely that some customers may not be restored until Thursday, Contreras noted.