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More than 20,000 PG&E customers in El Dorado, Placer and Amador counties were without power Thursday morning after the utility shut off electricity to reduce wildfire risk ahead of strong winds and dangerously dry conditions.
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Those three Sierra Nevada foothill counties were among the hardest hit by the wildfire-prevention shutoffs. As of 9 a.m. Thursday, 9,264 customers were without power in El Dorado County, 5,567 in Placer County and 5,188 in Amador County, according to PG&E. Another 2,215 customers lost power in Nevada and Yuba counties, including 1,985 in Nevada County and 230 in Yuba County.
Pacific Gas and Electric Co. began shutting off electricity about 5:30 p.m. Wednesday across portions of Northern and Central California because of elevated wildfire danger, said John Kaufman, a utility spokesman. By 9 a.m. Thursday, 69,309 customers were without power in 23 counties, up from nearly 62,000 at 6 a.m.
Pacific Gas & Electric began turning off power about 5:30 p.m. Wednesday across a wide swath of its Northern and Central California service areas on concerns of elevated fire danger, said John Kaufman, a utility spokesman.
In El Dorado County, the shutoffs affected communities around Camino, Pollock Pines, Somerset and Georgetown, as well as areas farther east along Highway 50 near Kyburz and Twin Bridges, according to utility outage listings. Many of those shutoffs began between 2:50 and 3:30 a.m. Thursday.
In Placer County, affected areas included Foresthill, Colfax, Dutch Flat, Alta, Emigrant Gap and Soda Springs. Shutoffs in those communities began Wednesday evening.
How many PG&E customers lost power in each county?
As of 9 a.m. Thursday, PG&E reported the following customer outages from its PSPS across 23 California counties:
- Alameda: 4,970 customers
- Alpine: 68
- Amador: 5,188
- Butte: 2,389
- Calaveras: 10,344
- Contra Costa: 1,587
- El Dorado: 9,264
- Lake: 3,896
- Lassen: 107
- Mariposa: 311
- Mendocino: 771
- Napa: 3,225
- Nevada: 1,985
- Placer: 5,567
- Plumas: 1,129
- San Luis Obispo: 4,602
- Shasta: 1,575
- Sierra: 1,537
- Solano: 41
- Sonoma: 2,180
- Tehama: 922
- Tuolumne: 8,423
- Yuba: 230
Red flag warnings cover Sierra foothills
Meteorologists at the National Weather Service in Sacramento warned Thursday morning of critical fire weather conditions across the Sierra Nevada and foothills through Friday. North to east winds gusting from 25 to 45 mph were forecast, with daytime humidity potentially falling into the single digits.
Red flag warnings were in effect from midnight Thursday through 10 a.m. Friday for the northern Sierra Nevada and Sacramento Valley foothills, including Placerville, Jackson, Quincy and Paradise, according to Sacramento Bee meteorologist Sean Macaday.
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Macaday forecast wind gusts of 40 to 55 mph in the foothills late Thursday, with relative humidity around 20%. The combination of strong winds, dry air and vegetation could allow fires to spread rapidly.
“Gusty north to east winds and dry conditions will allow for easier fire starts and the potential for rapid fire spread,” the weather service’s Sacramento office said in a social media post.
The Sacramento area itself was expected to see less wind. Macaday forecast gusts generally below 25 mph near Sacramento County, compared with gusts up to 35 mph in parts of the Sacramento Valley between Chico, Yuba City and Williams.
The fire danger stretched well beyond Northern California. Red flag warnings extended south toward Los Angeles County, where a Santa Ana wind event could produce gusts exceeding 70 mph in some mountain areas Friday, Macaday reported.
PG&E planned additional public safety power shutoffs Thursday and Friday morning, Kaufman said. The utility’s outage listings showed estimated restoration times Saturday morning or around midday for many affected foothill communities, although those estimates could change depending on weather conditions and the time needed to inspect power lines.
The utility planned to open more than 40 community resource centers across 25 counties to support customers during the outages. The centers were expected to offer device charging, Wi-Fi, bottled water, snacks and other supplies. Customers can find center locations online at pge.com/crc.
PG&E customers can also check their address to find when outages will start and the estimated time their power will be restored at pge.com/pspsupdates.
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