More than 16,000 Bay Area customers went without power Wednesday as Pacific Gas & Electric took precautions to lessen the chances of sparking a wildfire as most of the region remained under a red flag warning that began Tuesday.
The National Weather Service confirmed that the red flag warning would continue until 7 a.m. Thursday. NWS meteorologist Dial Hoang said the red flag warnings occur during this time of year between as winds dry vegetation and trees out after the end of summer and into the fall. Though there has been some rainfall in the Bay Area in the last several weeks, the amount was minimal and winds quickly followed, blowing off much of the moisture.
“Sometimes, it is common to see fire weather concerns increase this time of year,” Hoang said.
As of 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, PG&E had initiated public safety power shutoffs for some 1,228 customers in Contra Costa County. More than 1,709 customers were without power in Santa Clara County, with almost 2,400 affected in Alameda County. In the North Bay, almost 4,500 customers were without power in Solano County, with another 4,575 in Napa County and 1,815 in Sonoma County.
Company officials said Wednesday afternoon that they hoped to restore power to those customers by Thursday morning, when the red-flag conditions were expected to fade.
The red flag warning encompassed almost all of the Bay Area, excepting large portions of Sonoma and Marin counties. Higher elevations around the North Bay and East Bay were most likely to be affected; Hoang said some parts of the Santa Cruz Mountains were seeing some of the highest wind speeds and lowest humidity levels.
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Sustained wind speeds at higher elevations reached up to 20 to 40 mph, Hoang said, while gusts went up to 50 or 60 mph. Throughout the lower-lying levels of the Bay Area, winds reached around 15 to 30 mph.
PG&E initiates these planned shutoffs when “fire-weather forecast is severe enough that people’s safety, lives, homes and businesses may be in danger of wildfires,” a spokesperson wrote in an email. Although the red flag warnings do not determine if a PSPS event may occur, some factors that the company reviews includes: low humidity levels, a forecast of high winds and the condition of dry material on the ground and low moisture content of vegetation.
An additional 7,500 customers are also without power due to non-PSPS outages, mostly due to weather-related outages. A PG&E spokesperson said strong winds entered their service area last night with the highest wind gusts measuring at 88 mph in St Helena in Napa County. The company said about 1,600 crew members are working on restoring power across their service area and they are inspecting and repairing equipment damaged by the strong winds.
Hoang advised people to avoid any activity that could start a fire outside and avoid burning anything, including using campfires and grills. He also told people not to toss cigarettes on the ground and safely dispose of them and to be ready to evacuate if local fire officials call for it.