PG&E Downsizes Power Shutoff Plan, Removes Several Bay Area Counties

PG&E has downsized its power shutoff plan that was set to impact more than 300,000 customers across 25 counties in Northern California.

The utility on Monday warned it was planning outages beginning Wednesday due to high fire danger. On Tuesday, PG&E announced several counties were removed from consideration. In the Bay Area, Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz and San Mateo counties are no longer included in the power safety shutoff plan, PG&E said.

Meanwhile, customers in the North Bay counties of Napa, Solano and Sonoma are bracing for another round of outages.

PG&E shuts off power to areas where there is a high risk that damaged electrical equipment will spark a catastrophic wildfire.

Areas Affected by the Nov. 20 Public Safety Power Shutoff

All area outlines are approximate. For the most accurate information for your address, use the address lookup tool.

Updated: Nov. 20, 2019, 7:25 a.m.
Source: PG&E

Here's a breakdown of the potential shutoff in the Bay Area, per PG&E's Tuesday update:

Napa County: 11,181 customers in Angwin, Calistoga, Deer Park, Lake Berryessa, Napa, Oakville, Pope Valley, Rutherford, Saint Helena, Yountville.
Solano County: 1,970 customers in Fairfield, Suisun City, Vacaville, Winters.
Sonoma County: 38,376 customers in Annapolis, Bodega, Bodega Bay, Calistoga, Cazadero, Cloverdale, Duncans Mills, Forestville, Geyserville, Glen Ellen, Guerneville, Healdsburg, Jenner, Kenwood, Monte Rio, Penngrove, Petaluma, Rio Nido, Santa Rosa, Sonoma, Villa Grande, Windsor.

An unusually warm and dry November has led to more fire danger, and that means likely more PG&E power shutoffs this week. To make matters worse, an East Bay fire district is warning they don’t have adequate staffing or resources, and the chief worries they're one call away from tragedy. Jodi Hernandez reports.

Santa Rosa City Schools said four campuses will be closed Wednesday due to the outages. The schools are Maria Carrillo High, Rincon Valley Middle, Santa Rosa Accelerated Charter School, and Hidden Valley Elementary.

The National Weather Service this week issued a red flag warning for Wednesday morning through Thursday morning in the North Bay mountains, East Bay hills and the Diablo Range.

The weather service is forecasting north to northeast winds of 20-30 mph, with gusts up to 35-45 mph in those areas. Isolated gusts on some peaks could reach up to 60 mph, the NWS said.

The winds combined with humidity levels dropping to 10% to 20% in some of those areas increases the fire danger, and any fires that develop could spread quickly, the weather service said.

For the latest updates on PG&E's power shutoffs, go to the company website.