Power To Petaluma May Be Cut Amid Red Flag Weather, PG&E Warns

PETALUMA, CA — The first phase of Northern California power outages started early Wednesday morning in the North Bay. The next phase of PG&E's Public Safety Power Shutoff will likely begin around noon, according to PG&E.

Residents and business operators in parts of Petaluma may be among more than 66,000 in Sonoma County — and more than 600,000 across Northern and Central California — impacted by a PG&E Public Safety Power Shutoff, or PSPS.

Unless the weather forecast for high wind changes, PG&E will begin to de-energize power lines at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday. Once the power is cut, it will be off until at least Thursday afternoon, the utility giant warns.

Power will not be restored until power lines are inspected, to ensure that they are not in danger of starting a wildfire. PG&E says the power shutoff may impact an estimated 250,000 customers in the Bay Area and may not be fully restored for five days.

This shutoff, if it happens, will impact 66,289 Sonoma County customers in Santa Rosa, Sonoma, Petaluma, Healdsburg, Cloverdale, Glen Ellen, Penngrove, Geyserville, Kenwood, Rohnert Park, Windsor, Annapolis, Stewarts Point, Cotati, Cazadero, Guerneville, Larkfield, El Verano, Boyes Hot Springs, Fulton and Bodega Bay, according to a list provided Tuesday morning by PG&E North Bay Spokeswoman Deanna Contreras.

See a map of the potentially affected areas.

The impending public safety power shutoff comes after PG&E issued a news release Monday saying its meteorologists were monitoring a National Weather Service fire weather watch for vast portions of Northern and Central California.

The utility company said because of the weather conditions, it may proactively turn off power in portions of 30 counties in Northern and Central California — including seven counties in the Bay Area.

The 30 counties: Alameda, Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Colusa, Contra Costa, El Dorado, Glenn, Lake, Mariposa, Mendocino, Napa, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, San Joaquin, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Shasta, Sierra, Solano, Sonoma, Stanislaus, Tehama, Tuolumne, Yolo and Yuba.

That fire weather watch has since been upgraded by the National Weather Service San Francisco Bay Area to a red flag warning for nearly all elevations in the North and East Bay starting early Wednesday morning into Thursday afternoon.

The warning for extreme fire danger was issued early Tuesday for the North/East Bay Hills and Valleys as a dry and windy weather system enters the region, NWS officials said. The warning will start at 5 a.m. Wednesday and run until 5 p.m. Thursday.

The areas of most concern are greater than 1,000 feet in elevation in the North and East Bay Hills, but NWS meteorologist Duane Dykema said the warning applies to the valleys, as well.

A wind advisory is also in effect starting 6 a.m. Wednesday. Wind gusts of up to 30 mph are expected in the valleys. In the hills, sustained 20-30 mph winds and gusts of 45-55 mph — and higher locally on Wednesday night — are expected.

The public safety power shutoff comes two years to the date after the devastating North Bay wildfires and 11 months after the catastrophic Camp Fire that destroyed much of the Northern California town of Paradise.

PG&E will alert customers through automated calls, texts, and emails, when possible, prior to, and during, a Public Safety Power Shutoff.

To support customers who would be impacted by Wednesday’s potential PSPS event, PG&E is planning to open community resource centers across the affected areas. The centers will be open during daylight hours only and will provide restrooms, bottled water, electronic-device charging and air-conditioning.

Customers are encouraged to visit pge.com/pspsupdates for the most up-to-date Public Safety Power Shutoff information, including addresses for the Community Resource Centers as they open and a link to an address look-up tool where customers can search their address for potential impacts.

Once the power is off, PG&E needs to inspect its equipment and power lines for weather damage and overall safety before turning it back on.

"This is shaping up to be one of the most severe dry wind events we’ve seen in our territory in recent years and we want our customers to be prepared for an extended outage that may last several days," said Michael Lewis, senior vice president, PG&E Electric Operations.

"Our meteorological and operations teams continue to actively monitor the weather and this evolving situation, and we are working directly with state and local agencies to help prepare our customers and the public for this safety event," Lewis said.

"We want our customers to be aware that, based on this number, it could take several days to fully restore power after the weather passes and safety inspections are completed."

According to PG&E, customers may be affected by a power shutoff even though they are not experiencing extreme weather conditions in their specific location. This is because the electric system relies on power lines working together to provide electricity across cities, counties and regions.

Sonoma County and the city of Santa Rosa have declared proclamations of local emergency and activated their Emergency Operation Centers in anticipation of PG&E's plan to shut off electric power to prevent power lines from sparking wildfires during dangerous wind conditions
Wednesday and Thursday.

The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved the proclamation of a local emergency shortly after it observed 44 seconds of silence in memory of the 44 people who died in the Sonoma Complex fires that started two years ago.

"This is an emotional day for many people," Board Chair David Rabbitt said before everyone in the chambers rose to observe the silence.

Board members said the county is much better prepared for wildfires than it was two years ago.

"It's wickedly ironic we have a red flag warning and a likely power shutdown now. We are not just Sonoma Strong, we are Sonoma Ready," Supervisor James Gore said.

Supervisor Susan Gorin, who lost her Sonoma Valley home in the fire, dabbed tears as she said, "This is an emotional day for me."

Gorin recalled facilities in the Sonoma-area district she represents opening to accommodate those who fled the fires.

"It was the epitome of the community coming together," Gorin said.

PG&E has not said if a power shutoff will indeed occur Wednesday. Chris Godley, Sonoma County's Department of Emergency Management director, told the board he is "99 percent sure it is going to happen tonight."

— Bay City News Service contributed to this report.