PG&E Begins to Proactively Turn Off Power for Safety to Nearly 800,000 Customers Across Northern and Central California

Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) confirmed that it has implemented the first phase of a Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) across significant portions of its service area in response to a widespread, severe wind event.

The Public Safety Power Shutoff will occur in three phases, with the first phase impacting approximately 513,000 customers beginning at 12 a.m. Wednesday morning. Customer impacts will include: Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Colusa, El Dorado, Glenn, Humboldt, Lake, Marin, Mendocino, Napa, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Shasta, Sierra, Solano, Sonoma, Tehama, Trinity, Yolo and Yuba.

The second phase of the Public Safety Power Shutoff will occur around 12:00pm on Wednesday afternoon, impacting service to approximately 234,000 customers in the following counties: Alameda, Alpine, Contra Costa, Mariposa, San Joaquin, San Mateo and Santa Clara.

A third phase is being considered for the southernmost portions of PG&E’s service area, impacting approximately 42,000 customers. Specific locations are still to be determined.

The decision to turn off power was based on forecasts of dry, hot and windy weather including potential fire risk. Based on the latest weather forecasts and models, PG&E anticipates that this weather event will last through midday Thursday, with peak winds forecasted from Wednesday morning through Thursday morning and reaching 60 to 70 mph at higher elevations.

“The safety of our customers and the communities we serve is our most important responsibility, which is why PG&E has decided to turn power off to customers during this widespread, severe wind event. We understand the effects this event will have on our customers and appreciate the public’s patience as we do what is necessary to keep our communities safe and reduce the risk of wildfire,” said Michael Lewis, PG&E’s senior vice president of Electric Operations.

How our customers can prepare

As part of these preparedness efforts, PG&E is asking customers to:

  • Update their contact information at pge.com/mywildfirealerts or by calling 1-866-743- 6589 during normal business hours. PG&E will use this information to alert customers through automated calls, texts, and emails, when possible, prior to, and during, a PSPS.
  • Plan for medical needs like medications that require refrigeration or devices that need power.
  • Identify backup charging methods for phones and keep hard copies of emergency contacts.
  • Build or restock your emergency kit with flashlights, fresh batteries, first aid supplies and cash.
  • Keep in mind elderly family members, younger children and pets. Information and tips including a safety plan checklist are available at pge.com/psps.
  • Continue to monitor PG&E’s new weather forecasting web page at pge.com/weather which is a dedicated page with weather forecasting information and a daily 7-day PSPS lookahead.

To support customers in the affected areas, PG&E has opened Community Resource Centers in several locations beginning on Wednesday morning. The centers are located at:

County

City

Location

Butte

Oroville

Bird Street School, 1421 Bird St, Oroville 95965

Butte

Magalia

14144 Lakeridge Court, Magalia 95954

El Dorado

Placerville

El Dorado Fairgrounds 100 Placerville Drive, Placerville 95667

Lake

Clear Lake

Clearlake Senior Center 3245 Bowers Avenue, Clearlake 95422

Napa

Napa

Calistoga Fairgrounds – 1601 N. Oak Calistoga 94515
or
Six Flags Discovery Kingdom Parking Lot – 1001 Fairgrounds Drive, Vallejo CA 94589

Napa

Calistoga

Calistoga Fairgrounds – 1601 N. Oak Calistoga 94515

Santa Clara

San Jose

Avaya Stadium 1123 Coleman Avenue, San Jose 95110

Nevada

Grass Valley

Sierra College Grass Valley 250 Sierra College Drive, Grass Valley 95945

Contra Costa

San Ramon

Bishop Ranch Parking Lot – 2600 Camino Ramon, San Ramon 94583

Calaveras

Arnold

Meadowmont Shopping Center – 2182 HWY 4, Arnold 95223

San Mateo

Half Moon Bay

Pasta Moon Restaurant, 845 Main St Half Moon Bay 94019

Placer

Auburn

Gold Country Fairgrounds 1273 High Street Auburn 95603

Shasta, Tehama

Redding, Cottonwood, Red Bluff

Shasta College, 11555 Old Oregon Trail Redding 96003

Solano

Vacaville

Mission Church 6391 Leisure Town Road, Vacaville 95687

Sonoma

Santa Rosa, Sonoma

Santa Rosa Veterans Memorial Building 1351 Maple Ave, Santa Rosa 95404

Alameda

Oakland

Merritt College LOT B – Leona St., Oakland 94508

Tuolumne

Sonora

Mother Lode Fairgrounds 220 Southgate Drive, Sonora 95370

Santa Cruz

Aptos

Twin Lakes Church 2701 Cabrillo College Dr, Aptos 95003

Amador

Pioneer

Mace Meadows Golf Course, 26570 Fairway Drive Pioneer 95666

Mendocino

Ukiah

1775 N. State Street, Ukiah 95482

Yolo

Winters

Next to PG&E Gas Academy Intersection of E. Grant Avenue & Timber Crest Road Winters, CA 95694

Colusa, Glenn

Williams, Orland

839 Newville Road, Orland 95963

Mariposa

Coulterville

Coulterville Fire Dept – 10293 Ferry Road, Coulterville 95311

Sierra

Sierra City

Loganville Campground parking lot – HWY 49, Sierra City 96125

Stanislaus

Westley

Westley Hotel – 8615 CA-33, Westley 95387

Plumas

La Porte

2140 Main St. La Porte 95981

El Dorado

El Dorado Hills

Rolling Hills Christian Church 800 White Rock Road, El Dorado Hills 95762

Yuba

Oregon House

9185 Marysville Road, Oregon House 95962

About PG&E

Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG), is one of the largest combined natural gas and electric energy companies in the United States. Based in San Francisco, with more than 20,000 employees, the company delivers some of the nation’s cleanest energy to 16 million people in Northern and Central California. For more information, visit www.pge.com and www.pge.com/news.