PG&E issues power shutoff warning due to wind and drought conditions

SHASTA COUNTY, Calif. – PG&E began shutting off power to customers in Shasta and Butte counties Monday morning as part of a Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) event.

The PSPS event is scheduled to begin between 5 a.m. and 7 a.m. on September 30th and run until 1 p.m. on Tuesday, October 1st.

PG&E said the forecast strong winds would increase fire danger from the Sacramento Valley and surrounding foothills to the elevated terrain of the North Bay, forcing the company to shut off power in high-risk areas to prevent a wildfire.

As of 11 a.m., 9,444 customers had lost power. Of those, 7,988 were in Shasta County, 415 were in Butte County and the remaining 1,041 were in parts of Glenn, Tehama, Colusa and Lake counties.

Just after 6 a.m., an hour after the PSPS began, only 823 customers in Shasta County and 415 in Butte County had lost power.

Grant Elementary School in West Redding was an area under alert for PSPS; The school preemptively assigned students a changed minimum day on Monday.

As of Sunday evening, PG&E expected the PSPS to affect approximately 12,365 customers in 11 counties and two tribal areas:

• Alameda 57
• Butte 415
• Colusa 545
• Contra Costa 286
• Glenn 555
• Humboldt 123
• Napa 140
• Shasta 7,982
• Sonoma 11
• Tehama 1,986
• Trinity 265
• Glenstone Rancheria 44
• Pit River Tribes 6

PG&E said restoration time may change depending on weather and equipment damage and recommends all customers plan for an extended outage. The utility says it is providing daily updates until the weather risk passes or power is restored.

PG&E issued a 4 p.m. Update to the PSPS that due to improved weather forecast models, nearly 3,000 customers in Alameda, Colusa, Contra Costa, Humboldt, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Sonoma, Tehama and Trinity counties were removed from the scope of Monday's PSPS. Customers who were excluded from the PSPS were contacted directly by PG&E and informed of the change.

At 1:45 p.m. patrols began assessing damage, making repairs and preparing to restore power safely and as quickly as possible to all customers affected by the PSPS this morning. PG&E said all customers affected by the PSPS can expect to have their power restored by Monday evening.

PG&E said it continues to monitor weather conditions and that a second wave of windy weather this evening could cause power outages to about 400 customers in Butte County who had their power shut off this morning and are currently in the process of restoring power. PG&E said it will contact customers and inform them of any PSPS changes.

If you are a customer affected by an outage, PG&E provides resource centers with WiFi, air conditioning, bottled water, device charging and more.

BUTTE COUNTY

Concow, Concow Elementary School, 11679 Nelson Bar Rd., Sept. 30 from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m

COLUSA COUNTY

Stonyford, Stonyford Community Hall, 229 Market St., Sept. 30 from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m

GLENN COUNTY

Elk Creek, Elk Creek Junior Senior High School, 3430 Co Rd 309, September 30 from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m

Orland, Orland Shopping Center, 1016 South St, September 30 from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m

SHASTA COUNTY

Anderson, Frontier Senior Center, 2081 Frontier Trail, Sept. 30 from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m

Redding, Dignity Health Mercy Oaks, 100 Mercy Oaks Dr., Sept. 30 from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m

Round Mountain, Hill County Health and Wellness Center, 29632 CA-299, September 30 from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m

TEHAMA COUNTY

Corning, Rancho Tehama Association, 17605 Park Terrace Rd., Sept. 30 from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m

Mineral, Lassen Mineral Lodge, 18961 Husky Way, Sept. 30 from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m

TRINITY COUNTY

Mad River, Southern Trinity High School, 600 Van Duzen Rd, Sept. 30 from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m

For the full list of areas affected by the power shutdown, view the PG&E outage center map here.