Santa Clara Co. Declares State Of Emergency Due To Power Shutoff

SANTA CLARA COUNTY, CA — Santa Clara County has declared a state of emergency Wednesday because of PG&E's Public Safety Power Shutoff, which was set to affect the county around noon but has been postponed until later in the day.

During a news conference in San Jose on Wednesday afternoon, county officials declared the state of emergency and briefed the public on PG&E's plans to postpone widespread power outages until 8 p.m.

The notice of an emergency also asks that state and federal officials declare statewide and federal emergencies, since about 800,000 PG&E customers across about 34 counties will be impacted by massive power shutoffs.

About 513,000 customers across 22 counties, including the North Bay, lost power in the early morning hours Wednesday, and a second phase of the shutoff involving several other counties including Santa Clara, San Mateo, Contra Costa and Alameda counties was set for noontime until the postponement.

County officials said 38,200 PG&E customers in Santa Clara County will be affected by the shutoffs, about 1,100 of which are customers with special energy needs due to medical conditions.

"We do an emergency proclamation here at the county any time we see an event that looks like it could require mutual aid, massive mutual aid or potentially overwhelm any of our county services," David Flamm, deputy director for the county's Office of Emergency Management, said Wednesday.

Miguel Márquez, the county's chief operating officer, told reporters Wednesday that multiple facilities "of significance" will be affected by the shutoffs, including the county's Valley Health Center East Valley and the Reid-Hillview Airport. He said the county has generators at the East Valley clinic, and said it will be "fully operational."

The state of emergency will last until county officials are able to determine power has been fully restored.