An extreme wind event forecasted this weekend may trigger another round of PG&E outages that may impact approximately 850,000 customers across the utility's service areas.
- View PG&E's live outage map
- National Weather Service has issued a Red Flag Warning this weekend (click here for further details)
- No power? Here's how to keep your food cold
PG&E officials said in a statement on Friday that forecasted high winds and dry air could be one of the most powerful wind events in Northern California in decades, with widespread winds of up to 60 mph and gusts reaching up to 70 mph in higher elevations.
The expected shutoffs will begin Saturday evening and last through Monday. Customers in portions of 36 counties could lose power at some point.
All Bay Area counties except San Francisco are expected to have some outages over the next three days and nearly 400,000 customers in the Bay Area could lose power.
Potential Public Safety Power Shutoff Impacted Areas for Oct. 26-28
This map shows approximate outlines of potentially impacted areas. For the most accurate information for your address, use the address lookup tool.
Source: PG&E
Here's a breakdown of how many customers will be impacted by county:
- Alameda: 57,360 (Albany, Berkeley, Canyon, Castro Valley, Dublin, Fremont, Hayward, Livermore, Oakland, Piedmont, Pleasanton, San Leandro, Sunol)
- Contra Costa: 48,824 (Alamo, Antioch, Brentwood, Byron, Canyon, Clayton, Concord, Crockett, Danville, Diablo, El Cerrito, El Sobrante, Hercules, Kensington, Knightsen, Lafayette, Martinez, Moraga, Orinda, Pinole, Pittsburg, Pleasant Hill, Port Costa, Richmond, Rodeo, San Pablo, San Ramon, Walnut Creek)
- Marin: 86,813 (Belvedere, Bolinas, Corte Madera, Dillon Beach, Fairfax, Fallon, Forest Knolls, Greenbrae, Inverness, Kentfield, Lagunitas, Larkspur, Marshall, Mill Valley, Muir Beach, Nicasio, Novato, Olema, Point Reyes Station, Ross, San Anselmo, San Geronimo, San Rafael, Sausalito, Stinson Beach, Tiburon, Tomales, Woodacre)
- Napa: 11,294 (Angwin, Calistoga, Deer Park, Lake Berryessa, Oakville, Pope Valley, Rutherford, St Helena, Yountville)
- San Mateo: 64,932 (Belmont, Burlingame, Daly City, El Granada, Emerald Hills, Half Moon Bay, Hillsborough, La Honda, Loma Mar, Montara, Moss Beach, Pacifica, Pescadero, Portola Valley, Redwood City, San Bruno, San Carlos, San Gregorio, San Mateo, South San Francisco, Woodside, Unincorporated Communities in Southwest San Mateo County)
- Santa Clara: 27,093 (Coyote, Cupertino, Gilroy, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Los Gatos, Monte Sereno, Morgan Hill, Redwood Estates, San Jose, San Martin)
- Santa Cruz: 44,945 (Aptos, Ben Lomond, Brookdale, Capitola, Corralitos, Felton, Freedom, La Selva Beach, Mount Hermon, Santa Cruz, Scotts Valley, Soquel)
- Solano: 10,232 (Fairfield, Suisun City, Vacaville, Vallejo)
- Sonoma: 92,877 (Annapolis, Bodega, Bodega Bay, Camp Meeker, Cazadero, Cloverdale, Cotati, Duncans Mills, Forestville, Freestone, Geyserville, Glen Ellen, Graton, Guerneville, Healdsburg, Jenner, Kenwood, Larkfield, Monte Rio, Occidental, Penngrove, Petaluma, Rio Nido, Rohnert Park, Sebastopol, Stewarts Point, Valley Ford, Villa Grande, Windsor)
PG&E CEO Bill Johnson in a media briefing late Thursday said the possible next round of outages will likely impact the North Bay, Peninsula, East Bay, Sierra Foothills, Central Coast and Humboldt County. PG&E officials said there is "growing confidence" the outages would take place Saturday and could last through Monday.
"We don't know yet exactly the footprint in those areas. What we know now are the general weather conditions -- widespread weather conditions," Johnson said.
The National Weather Service on Friday upgraded a Fire Weather Watch in the Bay Area to a Red Flag Warning. Timeline of the Red Flag Warning below.
Meanwhile, PG&E crews on Thursday began restoring power to 179,000 customers across 17 counties after it shut off power due to dangerous fire weather.
The utility issued "all clears" earlier in the day in most impacted counties to allow crews to inspect equipment and lines before restoring power. PG&E expects all customers to be restored by Friday night or sooner, pending any damage found on the system.
PG&E late Thursday said 56,000 customers in the impacted areas were still without power.
Local
The utility cut power to more than 2 million people across the Bay Area in rolling blackouts from Oct. 9-12, paralyzing parts of the region in what was the largest deliberate blackout in state history. Schools and universities canceled classes and many businesses were forced to close.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday addressed the outages and had some choice words about the utility.
"It is infuriating beyond words to live in a state as innovative and extraordinarily entreupeneural and capable as the state of California to be living in an environment where we are seeing this kind of disruption and these kinds of blackouts," Newsom said. "It's about decades of mismanagment. It's about focusing on shareholders and dividends over you and members of the public. It's a story about greed. And they need to be held accountable."
PG&E said the shutdowns are not about money.
The only goal "is to prevent a catastrophic wildfire," PG&E Bill Johnson said earlier in the week.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
