PG&E cuts power to thousands in Bay Area amid wildfire risk

LAST October 15, 8 a.m. PG&E has begun cutting power across California as much of the state is at high fire risk due to high winds and dry weather. In the Bay Area, more than 6,000 people had their power cut as of 7 a.m., according to PG&E’s outage map. More than 11,000 people could lose power in the region as weather conditions become dangerous, with some outages expected to last into Saturday.

On Wednesday night, the National Weather Service issued a fire weather watch for the inland mountains of the North Bay and East Bay. Winds in these areas could see gusts up to 35 mph. Humidity is expected to be relatively low in the area, between 15% and 30%, leading to near-critical fire weather conditions.

“Given the very dry conditions and the potential for offshore winds, any sparks have the potential to start a fire,” the weather service warned when discussing the forecast.

Much of the state is under a red flag, with Santa Ana winds expected to bring high winds and dry conditions to Los Angeles, Ventura, San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties. Much of Eastern California is also under a red flag in response to the Diablo winds blowing through the region.

October 14, 12:30 p.m. PG&E has increased the number of California residents at risk of losing power due to expected high winds and dry weather. Now, 88,000 residents in 29 counties are at risk of power outages in the coming days due to the arrival of a high pressure system, bringing low humidity and high winds.

In the Bay Area, more than 11,000 customers could experience power outages. A red flag warning issued for parts of the central Sierra Nevada and Lake County begins at 4 a.m. Thursday.

In Southern California, where a red flag was issued for parts of Los Angeles and Ventura counties, the National Weather Service warned that dry winds were already picking up in mountainous areas with gusts reaching 40 to 50 mph, while winds in the western San Fernando Valley reached up to 35 mph on Wednesday.

October 14, 9:41 a.m. Thousands of Bay Area residents could lose power for days due to PG&E outages in several counties starting Wednesday evening.

On Tuesday, PG&E issued a warning about potential outages as high winds and dry conditions are expected to arrive this week across much of the state, increasing the risk of wildfires starting due to downed power lines.

In the Bay Area, more than 11,000 PG&E customers could experience power outages in Alameda, Contra Costa, Napa, Solano and Sonoma counties as Diablo’s hot, dry winds likely peak Thursday. Statewide, PG&E projects that about 70,000 customers could lose power in 29 counties due to the high-risk weather conditions.

The warning comes as a ridge of high pressure moves into the area from the Pacific Ocean.

“Little to no cloud cover is expected overnight, with an upper-level ridge maintaining the mixed marine layer. This in turn creates much drier daytime and nighttime conditions, especially at higher elevations,” reads the National Weather Service’s forecast discussion for the Bay Area.

Roger Gass, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said the Bay Area is expected to see the hottest weather Thursday and Friday, with San Francisco possibly reaching 80 degrees while the interior North and East Bay could reach 90 degrees.

“The most notable concern is in the North Bay area, where we could see afternoon humidity drop to around 15 to 25 percent, particularly in the higher elevations,” he said.

Winds at elevations above 1,000 feet in the Bay Area are expected to reach about 15 mph, with gusts reaching 25 to 35 mph Thursday evening, Gass said.

Stronger winds are forecast in the eastern and southern parts of the state, and the weather service issued a red flag warning this week for Los Angeles and Ventura counties, with winds expected to reach 20 to 30 mph with gusts near 60 mph. Meanwhile, some inland areas of San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties are currently under fire weather monitoring. Southern California Edison warns that outages are possible in Malibu, nearly two years after the devastating Palisades fire ravaged the area.

According to the weather service, this is the first windy event of the season in Santa Ana, as the strong winds arrive against a backdrop of low humidity levels.

“If a fire breaks out, conditions are favorable for extreme fire behavior, which would threaten life and property,” the weather service warned.