Ahead of a weeklong heat wave that will leave Sacramento and most of Northern California in sweltering temperatures, Pacific Gas and Electric Co. is warning. that there may be a serious fire hazard in several areas for the first time this year, which means that the power supply will have to be disconnected for safety reasons. This is to prevent the utility’s equipment from causing forest fires.
On Sunday, officials with the Oakland-based company said their meteorologists were predicting an “increased” risk for closures in parts of eight Northern California counties: Colusa, Glenn, Lake, Napa, Shasta, Solano, Tehama and Yolo. The blackout is the first wildfire safety blackout implemented this year by PG&E, which has faced constant criticism for designing outages in previous years to prevent fires caused by its equipment.
The affected areas and the timing of the closures are consistent with the National Weather Service’s red flag warning, which was issued for much of Northern California between 11 p.m. Monday and 8 p.m. Tuesday. Those dangerous conditions pose an increased risk of electrical system damage, which could spark fires fueled by dry vegetation.
PG&E officials were not immediately available for comment Sunday.
Where will the power cuts occur?
High fire risk conditions are expected to persist through the Fourth of July holiday, as Sacramento and the surrounding region could reach 110 degrees on Wednesday. The weather service has also issued an extreme heat warning for the entire Sacramento Valley from 11 a.m. Monday through 8 p.m. Saturday, as temperatures are expected to exceed 105 degrees throughout the weekend.
Officials did not indicate a specific number of homes and businesses that would be affected by the so-called PSPS, but maps provided by the utility showed power outages planned in the western part of Yolo County, including Winters and homes south of Putah Creek, as well as in Rumsey, Guinda and around the Cache Creek area.
Other areas with potential PSPS include homes on the western edge of the valley west of Willows, Orland, Corning, Red Bluff and Anderson. A large area of potential closures also surrounds the Redding area, along Highway 299 and in the Bella Vista and Palo Cedro areas.
According to PG&E, conditions are ripe for fires
PG&E officials said in a weather update on Sunday that in addition to the high temperatures, “there will also be a period of strong northerly winds, mainly over the northern and western Sacramento Valley and adjacent hills,” beginning Monday evening.
Weather service officials and PG&E officials say winds could reach gusts of up to 30 mph in some spots along the western tier of the valley — from Solano County north to Red Bluff — “although localized gusts of 35-40 mph will be possible,” according to PG&E.
PG&E’s forecasts are particularly concerned about site conditions, noting that “the grass crop at lower elevations has hardened off and dead fuel moisture levels are at seasonal drought levels.” That means the combination of hot air, strong winds and tinder-dry grass common in the Valley and its foothills could lead to rapidly moving fires.
The utility said in its weather update that it has already switched 624 of the 788 circuits in the affected areas to “enhanced powerline safety settings,” which adjust the sensitivity of the equipment to shut down more quickly if a problem is detected. According to PG&E, these buffers ensure that lines are automatically turned off “within one-tenth of a second” if vegetation or flames interfere with sagging lines or overheated transformers. Officials touted in a report to state regulators that such equipment settings reduced equipment ignitions by 68% in 2022.
PG&E blamed for previous wildfires
PG&E has imposed planned power shutoffs in recent years due to terrible wildfire weather. The utility’s equipment is blamed for causing some of the worst fires in state history, including the 2018 Camp Fire that destroyed Paradise, and PG&E Corp. has been found liable for billions of dollars worth of destruction.
The utility has been blamed for starting more than 30 wildfires since 2017, fires that have destroyed more than 23,000 homes and businesses and killed more than 100 people.
Last year, the company orchestrated two PSPS events out of four possible scenarios it identified, according to the company’s filings with the California Public Utilities Commission. In late August, the company cut power in the same footprint during Tuesday’s potential blackout, affecting nearly 4,000 ratepayers of the 8,400 notified of the potential blackout in Yolo and Napa counties north of Shasta County. A second PSPS event three weeks later affected about 1,200 customers in a smaller footprint in Tehama, Lake and Napa counties, according to the filings.
PG&E customers enrolled in the Medical Baseline program who have not verified that they received notice of the potential shutoffs will be visited at home by a PG&E employee if possible, the utility has said for previous outages. Officials said the primary focus will be on customers who rely on electricity to operate essential life-saving equipment.
The utility is also expected to open several “community resource centers” in the blackout areas on Tuesday so customers can cool off in air conditioning, get free bottled water and snacks and charge their phones. PG&E maps indicated these centers would be open starting at 8 a.m. Tuesday in Redding, Anderson, Elk Creek and Stonyford, among other areas.
Restoring power to affected customers would likely take 12 hours of daylight once the weather is “fully clear.” According to the release, PG&E crews will need to inspect the de-energized lines to make sure they were not damaged during the wind event.
More information about the PSPS and how to receive alerts is available on the PG&E website.
