PG&E has started turning off power in high fire-threat areas that include 22 counties and about 172,000 customers in Northern and Central California.
The power de-energization is considered part of Public Safety Power Shutoff or PSPS that has been initiated due to severe weather conditions.
These conditions include gusty winds that create critical fire weather with high ignition risk.
The power shutoff is expected to impact approximately 172,000 customers in portions of 22 counties and 7 tribal communities, including: Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, El Dorado, Humboldt, Kern, Lake, Lassen, Mariposa, Napa, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Sonoma, Tehama, Trinity, Tuolumne and Yuba.
Currently, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo Counties are not a part of the list for a potential PSPS.
As part of PSPS preparedness efforts, PG&E suggests customers:
- Plan for medical needs like medications that require refrigeration or devices that need power.
- Identify backup charging methods for phones and keep hard copies of emergency numbers.
- Build or restock your emergency kit with flashlights, fresh batteries, first aid supplies and cash.
- Keep in mind family members who are elderly, younger children and pets.
Customers can use an address lookup tools to find out if their location is being monitored for the potential safety shutoff at www.pge.com/pspsupdates [pge.com].
