Fire Threat Brings PG&E Power Cuts To Thousands In Sierra Foothills

Note: PG&E announced it could shut off power to more than 48,000 customers starting early Wednesday.

Updated Tuesday, Sept. 24, 12:35 p.m.

(AP) — Thousands of people in Butte, Nevada and Yuba counties woke up Tuesday without electricity after Pacific Gas & Electric cut power to try to prevent wildfires amid windy, dry and hot conditions.

PG&E cut electrical service to 24,000 customers in those counties in the Sierra Nevada foothills Monday evening, saying power will remain off until weather conditions improve.

The utility is continuing work to restore service to those impacted by Monday evening's shutoff, and had restored service to about 6,700 customers as of 11 a.m. on Tuesday. 

But PG&E continues to monitor weather conditions that might be cause for another shutoff in the North Bay and Sierra Foothills Tuesday night through the early morning hours of Wednesday. PG&E will make a final decision about this potential shutoff Tuesday afternoon.

Butte County is where a wildfire blamed on PG&E transmission lines killed 86 people last year and virtually leveled the town of Paradise.

Thousands of others elsewhere may face power cuts as utilities seek to prevent wildfires amid hot weather expected through Thursday.

Red Flag warnings of fire danger were in effect Tuesday north and east of San Francisco, and forecasters predict a brief burst of Santa Ana winds in Southern California.

East and west of Los Angeles, nearly 90,000 Southern California Edison customers were advised they could be blacked out, but no Red Flag warnings were issued.

Strong winds, low humidity and warm temperatures were forecast in the state through Wednesday, and authorities issued an extreme fire danger warning for some areas.

Wind gusts could reach 50 mph in the northern Sierra and foothills, and between 30 to 40 mph in the Sacramento Valley and near the Pacific coast, said Eric Kurth, a forecaster with the National Weather Service.

"Humidity levels are dropping, and winds are picking up," Kurth said. "The main threat is overnight when the winds pick up in the mountains and foothills."

Some of the most destructive blazes in the state in the past two years were started by PG&E power lines. Winds can knock down live wires and power poles or drive trees and other vegetation into contact with them.

PG&E first cut off power preemptively last October, affecting some 87,000 customers. The move prompted complaints and demands for reimbursement.

But the utility canceled plans to shut off power ahead of the deadly Nov. 8 blaze that started near Paradise.

An investigation by Cal Fire said transmission lines owned and operated by the utility started the fire that wiped out nearly 15,000 homes.

California regulators in May approved allowing utilities to cut off electricity to avoid catastrophic wildfires but said utilities must do a better job ramping up preventive efforts and educating and notifying the public, particularly people with disabilities and others who are vulnerable.

In January, PG&E sought bankruptcy protection, saying it could not afford an estimated $30 billion in potential damages from lawsuits stemming from catastrophic wildfires.

Earlier this month, PG&E agreed to pay $11 billion to insurance companies holding 85% of the claims from fires that include the Paradise blaze.

The settlement, confirmed Monday, is subject to bankruptcy court approval.

It's important for PG&E to pull itself from bankruptcy protection because it will be a big part of a wildfire fund set up to help California's major utilities pay future claims as climate change makes wildfires more frequent and severe.

Capital Public Radio Staff contributed to this report.