PG&E Will Shut Off Power To Over 118,500 Customers In Marin

MARIN COUNTY, CA — An estimated 940,000 Pacific Gas and Electric Company customers in Northern and Central California are slated to lose power this weekend — including more than 118,500 in Marin County — in the latest public safety power shutoff prompted by extreme fire weather conditions.

The utility company had previously announced as many as 850,000 customers could lose power over the weekend.

Forecasted hot and dry winds could be one of the most powerful wind events in Northern and Central California in decades, according to PG&E, with wind gusts reaching up to 70 miles per hour in higher elevations.

"This wind event is forecast to be the most serious weather situation that Northern and Central California has experienced in recent memory," said Michael Lewis, PG&E's senior vice president of electric operations.

"We understand the widespread impacts this Public Safety Power Shutoff will have across Northern and Central California. We would only take this decision for one reason — to help reduce catastrophic wildfire risk to our customers and communities. There is no compromising the safety of our customers, which is our most important responsibility."

Planned Shutoffs

The shutoffs will occur in seven phases across 38 counties, according to PG&E. Times could change due to weather conditions.

• Phase 1: 5 p.m. Saturday: Amador, Butte, El Dorado, Glenn, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, San Joaquin, Sierra, Shasta, Tehama, Yuba
• Phase 2: 5 p.m. Saturday: Colusa, Lake, Marin, Mendocino (south), Napa, Solano, Sonoma, Yolo
• Phase 3: 12 a.m. Sunday: Alpine, Calaveras, Mariposa, Tuolumne
• Phase 4: 8 p.m. Saturday: Alameda, Contra Costa, Monterey, San Benito, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Stanislaus
• Phase 5: 9 p.m. Saturday: Humboldt, Mendocino (north), Siskiyou, Trinity
• Phase 6: 9 p.m. Sunday: Kern
• Phase 7: TBA: Fresno, Madera

The shutdown is slated to be bigger than the shutdown that began on Oct. 9. Roughly 738,000 customers in 34 counties lost power at some point during that outage. PG&E was widely criticized for the company's handling of the event, including for poor communication with customers and local governments.

• Also see: Power Across Northern, Central CA Will Be Shut Off In 6 Phases

PG&E has been shutting off power proactively to prevent wildfires after utility lines started massively deadly and destructive fires over the last two years. PG&E has estimated that similar power shutoffs may be necessary for the next decade until the company can upgrade its technology.

But despite a power shutoff in Sonoma County on Wednesday night, an investigation has begun into damaged PG&E equipment found near the origin of the Kincade fire.

• Also see: Kincade Fire Latest: Over 25,000 Acres Burned

The blaze had grown to more than 25,455 acres and destroyed 49 structures as of Saturday morning and was only 10 percent contained.

Marin County Impacted

An estimated 118,535 customers will be affected in Marin County. It is approximately 99 percent of the county, officials said.

Customers will be impacted in the following cities and communities in Marin: Belvedere, Bolinas, Corte Madera, Dillon Beach, Fairfax, Fallon, Forest Knolls, Greenbrae, Inverness, Kentfield, Lagunitas, Larkspur, Marshall, Mill Valley, Muir Beach, Nicasio, Novato, Olema, Point Reyes Station, Ross, San Anselmo, San Geronimo, San Quentin, San Rafael, Sausalito, Stinson Beach, Tiburon, Tomales, Woodacre.

Customers can go to pge.com/pspsupdates to look up individual addresses to see if they will be impacted by the shutoff.

The Marin County Sheriff's Office of Emergency Services has activated its Emergency Operations Center and is coordinating with other agencies within Marin.

"We are being proactive and mobilizing our resources due to the potential power loss and increased fire threat," said Supervisor Kate Sears, president of the Marin County Board of Supervisors. "Public safety is our No. 1 priority, and we will focus our efforts to ensure the safety and security of our residents — especially those with access and functional needs whose health could be impacted by the loss of power."

Closures and Cancelations

• College of Marin has closed its Kentfield and Indian Valley campuses. Classes are canceled Saturday. There is no access to either campus. Once power goes out, the Kentfield and Indian Valley Campuses will remain closed until the day after power is restored to both campuses, school officials said.
• All Mill Valley School District schools will be closed on Monday.
• All San Rafael City Schools schools will be closed on Monday. All meetings and after-school programs, such as athletics and childcare, are also canceled at all schools. The Board of Education meeting scheduled for Monday is also canceled.
• All Tam District schools will be closed on Monday. All school activities for the day are also canceled.
• Larkspur City Hall and the Larkspur Library are closed starting Saturday.
• The Marin County Fire Department's Pancake Breakfast at Pt. Reyes Firehouse has been canceled.

Charging Stations

Once power goes out, local agencies and community partners plan to activate a series of charging stations for affected residents to recharge cell phone and small devices. Hours listed are effective once the outage occurs.

• Bolinas: Bolinas Fire Department, 100 Mesa Road (9 a.m. to 5 p.m.)
• Corte Madera: Corte Madera Rec Center, 498 Tamalpais Drive (noon to 5 p.m. Sunday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday)
• Corte Madera: Town Hall, 300 Tamalpais Drive (9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday)
• Larkspur: Central Marin Police Station Community Room, 250 Doherty Drive (open 24 hours)
• Mill Valley: Mill Valley Community Center, 180 Camino Alto, Mill Valley (8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday)
• Novato: Margaret Todd Center, 1560 Hill Road, Novato, CA (9 a.m. to 7 p.m.)
• San Anselmo: San Anselmo Library, 110 Tunstead (noon to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Wednesday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday)
• Sausalito: Sausalito City Hall, 420 Litho St., (9 a.m. to 9 p.m.)

PG&E Community Resource Centers

PG&E is opening Community Resource Centers in at least 71 locations. Restrooms, bottled water, electronic-device charging and air-conditioned seating for up to 100 will be available at these facilities.

These are the Marin locations:

• San Rafael: Albert J. Boro Community Center, 50 Canal St. (8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily)
• Marin City/Sausalito: Marin City Health & Wellness Center, 630 Drake Ave. (8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily)
• Novato: Old Hamilton Gym, 115 San Pablo Ave. (8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily)

Public Safety Message (From Marin County Sheriff's Office)

Making Emergency Calls When Cell Towers Lose Power

During a power shutofff, cell towers may lose battery power after a prolonged period of time. In the case of an emergency where your cell phone will not dial 911:

1. Land line phones will still call 911 (VoIP internet phones will not work).
2. Fire Stations and Marin County Sheriff Substations have phones with direct connection to emergency dispatch.
3. Find your closest local Public Safety Facility. If no one is at the first one you go to (might be on an emergency call, etc.) Please try the next facility closest to you.

Public Safety Agency buildings throughout Marin County:

• Belvedere Police – 450 San Rafael Ave., Belvedere
• Central Marin Police – 250 Doherty Drive, Larkspur
• Fairfax Police – 144 Bolinas Road, Fairfax
• Marin County Sheriff (Main Office) – 1600 Los Gamos, San Rafael
• Marin County Sheriff (Point Reyes) – 101 4th St., Point Reyes Station
• Marin County Sheriff Southern Station – 850 Drake Ave., Marin City
• Mill Valley Police – 1 Hamilton Drive, Mill Valley
• Novato Police – 909 Machin Ave., Novato
• Ross Police – 33 Sir Francis Drake Blvd., Ross
• San Rafael Police – 1400 Fifth Ave., San Rafael
• Sausalito Police – 29 Caledonia St., Sausalito
• Tiburon Police – 1155 Tiburon Blvd., Tiburon
• Central Marin Fire Station 13 – 5600 Paradise Drive, Corte Madera
• Central Marin Fire Station 14 – 342 Tamalpais Drive, Corte Madera
• Central Marin Fire Station 15 – 400 Magnolia Ave., Larkspur
• Central Marin Fire Station 16 – 15 Barry Way, Kentfield
• Kentfield Fire – 1004 Sir Francis Drake Blvd., Greenbrae
• Marinwood Fire – 777 Miller Creek Road, San Rafael
• Marin County Fire (Marin City) – 850 Drake Ave., Marin City
• Marin County Fire (Point Reyes) – 101 4th St., Point Reyes Station
• Marin County Fire (Throckmorton) – 816 Panoramic Highway, Mill Valley
• Marin County Fire (Woodacre) – 33 Castle Rock Ave., Woodacre
• Marin County Fire (Tomales) – 26701 Shoreline Highway, Tomales
• Mill Valley Fire Station 6 – 26 Corte Madera Ave., Mill Valley
• Mill Valley Fire Station 7 – 1 Hamilton Drive, Mill Valley
• Novato Fire Station 61 – 7025 Redwood Blvd., Novato
• Novato Fire Station 62 – 450 Atherton Ave., Novato
• Novato Fire Station 63 – 65 San Ramon Way, Novato
• Novato Fire Station 64 – 319 Enfrente Road, Novato
• Novato Fire Station 65 – 5 Bolling Drive, Novato
• Ross Valley Fire Station 18 – 33 Sir Francis Drake Blvd., Ross
• Ross Valley Fire Station 19 – 777 San Anselmo Ave., San Anselmo
• Ross Valley Fire Station 20 – 150 Butterfield Road, San Anselmo
• Ross Valley Fire Station 21 – 10 Park Road, Fairfax
• Southern Marin Fire Station 1 – 333 Johnson St., Sausalito
• Southern Marin Fire Station 4 – 304 Poplar St., Mill Valley
• Southern Marin Fire Station 9 – 308 Reed Blvd., Mill Valley
• Tiburon Fire Station 10 – 4301 Paradise Drive, Tiburon
• Tiburon Fire Station 11 – 1679 Tiburon Blvd., Tiburon
• San Rafael Fire Station 51 – 1051 C St., San Rafael
• San Rafael Fire Station 52 – 210 3rd St., San Rafael
• San Rafael Fire Station 53 – 30 Joseph Court, San Rafael
• San Rafael Fire Station 54 – 46 Castro Ave., San Rafael
• San Rafael Fire Station 55 – 955 Point San Pedro Road, San Rafael
• San Rafael Fire Station 56 – 650 Del Ganado Road, San Rafael

Sheriff's officials advised people who experience a medical emergency to visit their local hospital:

• Novato Community Hospital – 165 Rowland Way, Novato
• Kaiser Hospital – 99 Monticello, San Rafael
• Marin Health Medical Center (Marin General) – 250 Bon Air Road, Kentfield

Officials also encouraged residents to stay off the roads to reduce the risk of traffic collisions due to power outages at traffic lights and intersections throughout Marin.

Safety Tips

Officials encouraged residents and business owners to be prepared to be without power for more than 48 hours.

Preparations to consider:

• Charge all your mobile devices.
• Plan for medical needs — devices that require power or medications that need to be refrigerated. Fuel your vehicles.
• Learn how to manually open your garage door.
• Have some cash on hand in case ATMs and/or retail point-of-sale devices are not functioning.
• Inventory available supplies of food, water, flashlights and batteries.
• Update your contact information with PG&E at www.pge.com/mywildfirealerts or call 1-800-743-6589.

Bay City News Service contributed to this report.