Nearly 7,000 PG&E customers in the Bay Area may be affected by a Public Safety Power Shutoff starting Wednesday if the utility decides one is necessary, company officials said Monday.
About 50,000 PG&E customers in 19 counties and two tribal communities statewide would be affected by the shutoff, which may come as early as Wednesday evening.
Initial notifications went out late Monday afternoon to people who might have their power turned off. The utility may shut off the power because high winds and dry conditions, which are in the forecast, could damage PG&E equipment that then may spark a catastrophic wildfire.
Six counties in the Bay Area would be affected including Alameda, Contra Costa, Napa, Santa Clara, Solano and Sonoma. PG&E officials said that the high fire-risk conditions are expected to continue through Friday morning.
Once the high-risk conditions subside, PG&E crews will try to restore power to all customers within 12 daylight hours.
