Wildfire danger in January? In ultra-dry California, PG&E says safety blackout is coming
At the height of what should be California’s rainy season, PG&E Corp. is warning it might need to shut off power to thousands of customers to reduce the risk of a wildfire.
Pacific Gas and Electric Co. said Saturday it could impose a “public safety power shutoff” Monday night in portions of nine counties — Calaveras, Fresno, Kern, Madera, Mariposa, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Tulare and Tuolumne counties. By Sunday, PG&E scaled back the planned blackout down by 15,000 customers to approximately 6,100 in Fresno, Kern, Madera, Mariposa and Tulare counties.
“Forecasts show high fire-risk conditions arriving Monday evening in the southern portion of PG&E’s service area, with high winds expected to subside by Wednesday morning. Before any restoration begins, PG&E will inspect de-energized lines to ensure they were not damaged by high winds. PG&E will restore power safely and as quickly as possible once the weather all-clear is given,” the utility announced.
The National Weather Service said wind gusts could hit 70 mph in mountainous areas.
PG&E said it did not expect shutoffs to occur in the Sacramento region or the Bay Area due to higher humidity levels.
If executed, the blackout would be one of the smallest power shutoffs imposed by PG&E since the utility began cutting off electricity to parts of its service territory during fierce windstorms.
Still, it’s a testament to the dry winter California is enduring and the ever-present risk of wildfire that a shutoff is being contemplated in January. The Sierra Nevada snowpack is about half what it should be for this time of year. The U.S. Drought Monitor, a weekly analysis by multiple federal agencies, says 95% of California is experiencing drought-like conditions.
PG&E held six public safety power shutoffs in 2020 as the utility — barely six months after exiting bankruptcy — is anxious to avoid additional wildfires. Even so, the utility is being investigated in connection with the Zogg Fire, which killed four people in Shasta County in September. PG&E was driven into bankruptcy in early 2019 because of billions of dollars in liabilities from the 2017 wine-country fires and the 2018 Camp Fire, which killed 85 people and destroyed thousands of homes in Paradise.
The threat isn’t limited to PG&E territory. Southern California Edison is considering blackouts that would affect 278,000 homes and businesses. The Bonita Fire, measured at more than 700 acres, was burning in the San Bernardino National Forest.
By Sunday evening, PG&E had begun to notify customers of the potential blackout, while those who were removed from the scope of the outage were notified of their revised status.
This story was originally published January 17, 2021 at 9:43 AM with the headline "Wildfire danger in January? In ultra-dry California, PG&E says safety blackout is coming."