How to resolve AdBlock issue? The shutoffs came hours ahead of a predicted wind event that led to a red flag warning by the National Weather Service, and which some forecasters said could be historic in proportion, with wind gusts of 80 miles per hour or more in some areas.
PG&E said it was implementing the shutoff to protect against the danger of fire.
In this latest shutoff, an estimated 940,000 customer accounts and 38 counties are impacted, the company said.
That includes all of Lake County's populated areas, or more than 37,400 customer accounts.
Throughout the day Saturday, PG&E had made a series of changes to its anticipated time of shutoff. Lake County officials and this publication received information that was at times conflicting, with times ranging anywhere from 3 to 11 p.m.
PG&E spokeswoman Deanna Contreras said the company was attempting to adjust its shutoff times in reaction to changing conditions.
During a Saturday evening press conference, Mark Quinlan, PG&E’s senior director of emergency preparedness and response, reported that at around 5 p.m. they had started to deenergize the region.
As he gave estimated shutoff start times for some areas, some commenters on the company's Facebook feed reported that their power had already gone off hours ahead of time.
Across Lake County, residents reported power starting to go off around 5:15 p.m. and continuing until about 7:30 p.m.
There were reports of winds in some parts of Lake County on Saturday evening, with heavy winds hitting the north shore beginning at around midnight and continuing early Sunday morning.
At 3 a.m. a PG&E wind map showed wind speeds of more than 20 miles per hour with guts of around 43 miles per hour near Pine Mountain, 15 miles per hour and gusts of up to 39 miles per hour near Clearlake, 31 miles per hour and 50 mile-per-hour gusts near Knoxville, and on Mount St. Helena wind gusts were measured at 55 miles per hour.
No firm estimates have yet been given by PG&E as to when power might be restored, which depends on the timing of the weather event and the possibility of damage to power equipment.
Once the wind event is over and the all-clear has been called, inspections will begin to find any damage to the electrical that could cause fires, PG&E said.
Just when the all-clear might be called also has been a matter of changing times over the past few days.
Originally it had been expected to come sometimes on Monday evening, and county officials reported that in their discussions with PG&E that had been moved up to Monday morning and then, in the last update, to Sunday afternoon.
Once it's clear that lines aren't damaged, PG&E will reenergize them in stages, with the goal of restoring the vast majority of customers within 48 hours after the weather has passed.
During this shutoff, four community resource centers are being provided to Lake County, where residents can get water, charge their phones and rest. Hours are 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. during the shutoff.
The locations are as follows::
– Clearlake Senior Community Center, 3245 Bowers Ave., Clearlake.
– Konocti Vista Casino, 2755 Mission Rancheria Road, Lakeport.
– Twin Pine Casino & Hotel, 22223 Highway 29, Middletown.
– Upper Lake Unified School District, 725 Old Lucerne Road, Upper Lake.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
