PG&E issues ‘all clear’ in parts of California as fire risk eases. When will power return?
PG&E Corp. issued the “all clear” sign in parts of its service territory Monday, enabling the utility to restore power to some of the 345,000 homes and businesses that got blacked out Sunday night to reduce wildfire dangers during a severe windstorm.
Mark Quinlan, the utility’s incident commander for the wildfire-safety blackout, said 95,000 customers had their power back on by Monday night, leaving 250,000 still in the dark.
Pacific Gas and Electric Co. said it could take hours to finish inspecting its equipment for wind damage, and most customers wouldn’t get their electricity back until Monday or Tuesday night. In some areas, winds were expected to perk up again late Monday or early Tuesday, delaying the “all clear” sign for many customers, PG&E meteorologist Scott Strenfel said.
The National Weather Service said red flag warnings, signifying severe wildfire risk, would remain in effect through portions of Northern California through Tuesday afternoon.
The utility launched the year’s largest “public safety power shutoff” as Diablo winds began rolling across the state late Sunday. PG&E’s weather monitors said they recorded wind gusts of 89 mph in Sonoma County and 71 mph in Placer and Lake counties.
The power outages hit portions of 34 counties in the Sierra foothills, Sacramento Valley and Bay Area. At the last minute, San Joaquin and Kern counties were spared any blackouts because the strong winds didn’t materialize as originally believed.
PG&E has to patrol 17,000 miles of power lines to check for damage before customers that rely on those lines can get power restored. The utility deployed 1,800 ground crews, 65 helicopters and one airplane to inspect the equipment. Quinlan said at least 12 pieces of equipment have been reported damaged, and more are expected to be found Tuesday.
PG&E was driven into bankruptcy by billions of dollars in damages from the 2017 Wine Country fires and 2018 Camp Fire. It emerged from bankruptcy in June but its safety record remains under intense scrutiny by state officials. The company is under investigation in connection with the Zogg Fire, which killed four people in Shasta County last month.
San Diego Gas & Electric cut power to 2,900 customers Monday to reduce wildfire risks. Southern California Edison shut off 19,000 customers and said another 116,000 customers could lose electricity as well as Santa Ana winds blew into the region.
This story was originally published October 26, 2020 at 12:31 PM with the headline "PG&E issues ‘all clear’ in parts of California as fire risk eases. When will power return?."