About 1,600 customers in parts Napa, Solano and Yolo counties had their electricity turned off around 6:00 a.m. Saturday. Power to people in these counties was restored about 4 p.m., according to the Associated Press.
The utility then warned 27,000 customers in Butte, Yuba, Nevada, El Dorado, and Placer counties that their power would be cut from 9 p.m. through Sunday morning.
The move to preemptively cut the power due to weather conditions that could increase the risk for wildfires is very controversial in the fire-ravaged state. However, fire conditions, including winds, low humidity, dry vegetation, and heat — were expected to last into Sunday.
Significant increase in temperatures expected today. Here is today's high temperature forecast along with some heat safety reminders. CAwx uHvYKIBNA7
— NWS Bay Area (@NWSBayArea) June 9, 2019
The National Weather Service office reported a 71 mph (114 kph) gust on one peak in the region. The heat will be another factor with some East Bay cities along the I-680 corridor such as Pleasanton, Antioch and Concord expected to hit the low 100s, with 105 degrees possible by Monday, forecasters said.
“We have high-pressure building in over the area, and that combined with a dry offshore flow is pushing those hotter temperatures toward the coast,” Anna Schneider, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Monterey said Sunday. Even San Francisco could hit the upper 80s to low 90s.
PPG&E between a rock-and-a-hard-place
PG&E is under great pressure to prevent fires from starting in the first place after downed power lines and other company electrical equipment were blamed for the so-called Camp Fire in Butte County that nearly wiped the town of Paradise off the map.
In March 2018, Pacific Gas & Electric Company announced it will start switching off power to minimize sparks in vulnerable areas during times of extreme fire danger as part of its new comprehensive Community Wildfire Safety Program. There were quite a number of other initiatives the company put into effect at the same time.
In line with the protocols for pre-emptively shutting off power, PG&E also reprogramed devices called reclosers that are designed to prevent blackouts but can spark fires under certain conditions. The company is also following the vegetation management rules, based on the High Fire-Threat District map adopted in January 2018 by the California Public Utilities Commission.
The standards require keeping trees and limbs farther away from power lines. PG&E is also working to create fire safety zones around power lines in the highest fire-threat areas.
Opposition from customers
There are some angry customers – including those who rely on electrically powered life-support equipment and business owners who have to close their stores during a power shutoff. And actually, this opposition puts PG&E in a difficult position.
“We know how much our customers rely on electric service, and our decision tonight to turn off power is to protect our communities experiencing extreme fire danger,” Michael Lewis, PG&E’s senior vice president of electric operations, said in a statement Friday.
The utility companies will continue to make difficult decisions about cutting power as long as there is a possibility of wildfires. This is part of the new reality of living in regions where the suburbs have spread far into forested lands and climate change has become a climate emergency.
