Updated Wednesday, 7:02 a.m.
Pacific Gas & Electric says it has restored power to around 335,000 customers in Northern California after cutting power to hundreds of thousands of people Sunday to prevent its equipment from sparking wildfires during the strongest wind event so far this year.
The utility says the shutoff affected about 345,000 customers in parts of 34 counties and 17 tribal communities, its largest shutoff this year. San Joaquin and Kern counties were removed from the list Sunday.
Each customer account represents around two to three people.
The shutoffs came as extreme fire danger returned for much of Northern California, including winds up to 70 mph in the Sierra, the strongest wind event of the season. A red flag warning covered much of the region from Modesto to the Oregon border through Tuesday evening.
Dangerous Fire Weather Conditions expected. Please plan ahead and exercise caution. #sacwx pic.twitter.com/9gbA6AleRP
— NWS Sacramento (@NWSSacramento) October 23, 2020
PG&E says it hopes to restore power to the remaining 10,000 by noon on Wednesday.
The shutoff is the largest by the utility since it cut power to more than 600,000 customers Oct. 29, 2019.
Here are tips for preparing for a potential power shutoff.
The shut-offs are an attempt to prevent the utility's equipment from sparking further wildfires during windy conditions. PG&E cut power to around 37,000 customers in Northern California starting Wednesday, with many just getting power back Friday, the fifth time the utility has done so this year.
Cal Fire is investigating PG&E's role in sparking the Zogg Fire that killed four people in Shasta County earlier this year. So far 31 people have died in wildfires this year, with more than 4.1 million acres burned in the state.
Click the search bar in the bottom left corner of this map to see if your address falls within the areas that could be impacted. This map is approximate, but PG&E also has an address lookup tool that will provide more exact information.
If you do fall within the blackout area, this does not mean that you will definitely lose power, just that you are within the area that PG&E may shut off power to.
The counties likely to be impacted include Alameda, Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Colusa, Contra Costa, El Dorado, Fresno, Glenn, Humboldt, Kern, Lake, Madera, Marin, Mariposa, Mendocino, Napa, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, San Joaquin, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Solano, Sonoma, Stanislaus, Tehama, Trinity, Tuolumne, Yolo and Yuba. Some customers in 17 tribal communities will also be affected.
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