PG&E cuts power in parts of California to prevent more fires

PG&E Corp. is cutting power to parts of Northern California through an effort that will leave about 195,000 people in the dark to prevent its electric lines from toppling over and sparking wildfires in high winds.

The California utility giant, which filed for bankruptcy in 2019 after its equipment was blamed for sparking devastating blazes, said earlier Sunday that outages had begun in portions of four counties in Northern Sierra and North Valley. The rest will happen in phases, ultimately impacting portions of 16 counties, primarily north of Sacramento and in the Sierra Nevada foothills, the company said.

The fire risk is forecast to last through Monday morning, PG&E said. The company earlier said it expected power cuts to as many as 89,000 customers. The National Weather Service said the risks for wildfires would increase starting late Saturday evening and remain through Monday across much of Northern California.

"The combination of wind, low humidity, and hot conditions will result in extreme fire weather conditions,” the weather service said Saturday afternoon.

It’s the latest hardship for a state that’s been battered this year by extreme weather and power outages. Last month, a record-breaking heatwave triggered California’s first rotating blackouts since the 2001 energy crisis. Meanwhile, more than 8,000 wildfires have burned a record 3.6 million acres in the state, choking cities with smoke.

Utilities across the U.S. West are increasingly cutting power ahead of wind storms to reduce the chances of their live wires igniting catastrophic blazes. In Southern California, investigators are looking at a power line owned by Edison

International’s Southern California Edison as part of their probe into a fire that’s burning in the mountains near Los Angeles.
Sempra Energy’s San Diego Gas & Electric said Sunday it may also have to turn off power to 700 customers in the mountainous areas of San Diego county due to the expected arrival of Santa Ana winds and an increased chance of wildfires.

PG&E’s latest round will impact about 65,000 homes and businesses, or about 195,000 people based on the size of the average California household. The first service cuts started early Sunday and affect about 11,000 customers, the utility said.

Winds are expected to pick up again Sunday afternoon when the second round of power shut-offs are planned for about 54,000 customers, PG&E said.

The outages are considerably smaller in scope than previous ones. Earlier this month, PG&E cut power to about 172,000 homes and businesses - or about 516,000 people - as high winds raked California. PG&E emerged from bankruptcy in July after settling wildfire claims for $25.5 billion.

California’s peak wildfire season traditionally runs from September through November. But it’s been growing increasingly longer in recent years, with blazes coming as late as December.