Northern California PG&E shutoffs increase; tens of thousands without power

By Cecilio Padilla

PG&E has shut off power to nearly 90,000 customers across California as strong winds and dry conditions raise wildfire risk.

The Public Safety Power Shutoff began around 5:30 p.m. Wednesday. As of 10 a.m. Thursday, an estimated 87,475 customers had lost power across 29 counties, nearly 30,000 more than Wednesday’s numbers, and the utility said more shutoffs were possible on Friday morning.

Some of the largest outages in Northern California include 10,790 customers in Calaveras County, 8,757 in El Dorado County, 8,771 in San Luis Obispo County, 7,273 in Madera County, and 7,248 in Tuolumne County.

Nearly 4,600 customers were without power in Amador County and about 5,300 in Placer County. More than 3,000 customers have also been shut off in Butte County.

In the Bay Area, about 4,700 in Alameda County customers have lost power, along with roughly 3,000 customers in Napa County and about 2,000 in Sonoma County. More than 1,600 were without power in Contra Costa County.

The shutoffs come after the potential scope grew rapidly earlier this week, from about 30,000 customers Monday to 70,000 Tuesday and roughly 88,000 Wednesday.

PG&E said the latest event could continue through Saturday afternoon. Customers can check their address and estimated restoration time on the utility’s PSPS website.

More than 40 Community Resource Centers are also opening across 25 counties with device charging, Wi-Fi, water and other supplies.