How to resolve AdBlock issue? LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – As millions of Californians remain out of power due to a public safety power shutoff that began on Saturday, Pacific Gas and Electric said that another weather system expected to arrive on Tuesday could warrant still another shutoff.
The company cut power to Lake and 37 other counties on Saturday evening ahead of heavy winds that battered the region overnight and on Sunday.
An estimated 965,000 customer accounts were impacted, according to a report from Mark Quinlan, PG&E's senior director of emergency preparedness and response.
Another 100,000 customers are without power due to emergent conditions with the weather event, Quinlan said.
Those numbers are related to accounts, not the actual number of impacted Californians. The Oct. 9 shutoff, which impacted about 750,000 customers, was estimated to have impacted 2 million people.
The outage that began Saturday also includes 6,145 critical facilities and 28,920 miles of overhead circuits regionwide, officials said.
Quinlan said Sunday evening that PG&E had given the all-clear to begin inspections before reenergization to some parts of Northern California and as a result had already begun to restore power to some customers.
The county of Lake reported Sunday that PG&E had provided it with information indicating that Lake County could get the all-clear between 6 and 8 a.m. Monday, at which point PG&E would start inspections with the goal of restoring power within 48 hours, depending on any damage found to electrical equipment.
However, shortly before 1 a.m. Monday, PG&E issued an update that said as wind conditions improved on Sunday afternoon it had issued the all-clear for customers in Humboldt, Siskiyou, Trinity, Northern Mendocino and portions of Lake County, and had begun safety inspections before sundown.
By 10 p.m. Sunday, more than 30,000 customers had their power restored, PG&E said.
PG&E did not specify where the all-clear in Lake County had been given, but said it was continuing to monitor conditions in Lake and other counties impacted by the “historic safety shutoff” so as to give the all-clear for the remaining customers.
As forecast, high winds hit the county hard, particularly after 12 a.m. Sunday. That prompted the Clearlake Police Department to put out a Sunday morning alert reporting that, due to the high winds, it had received numerous reports of trees and power lines down across several roads in the City.
Police urged people to use caution for fallen objects on the roadway, and to report downed trees and power lines to authorities.
PG&E’s early Monday report said maximum wind gusts around the outage area ranged from 70 miles per hour at Jarbo Gap in Butte County, to 87 miles per hour on Mount St. Helena west in Sonoma County, and 102 miles per hour on Pine Flat Road, also in Sonoma County and in the Kincade fire area.
Because of those high wind speeds, the company said damage to power equipment could be significant.
New weather event could bring another shutoff
At the same time, PG&E officials said they are monitoring a new weather system that the National Weather Service has forecast will bring more fire risk through high winds and dry conditions.
That offshore wind event, expected to arrive over the region on Tuesday, is forecast to continue until Thursday.
That new system could necessitate another shutoff, PG&E said.
It's not believed that the midweek wind event will be as strong as the one that triggered the current shutoff.
During a Sunday evening briefing, PG&E Chief Meteorologist Scott Strenfel said this incoming system appears to be weaker, adding that the “sliver of good news” is that they are not looking at any other incoming weather systems past Wednesday.
Company officials said the possible new shutoff this week could be similar in size and footprint to the current one, with PG&E beginning notifications to 600,000 customers in 35 counties who could be included on Sunday.
PG&E reported that it will “make every effort” to restore power between the two events, but the ability to do that depends on the extent of wind damage.
County officials said PG&E informed them that deenergization for the next shutoff could begin at 4:30 a.m. Tuesday, ahead of the weather event expected to begin at 6 a.m.
An all-clear could come at noon on Wednesday, with the county reporting that restoration of power could take place on Friday.
On Sunday, county officials reported that they had an indication that some portions of the south county, including Hidden Valley Lake, could be excluded, but the situation could change.
A concern is whether some Lake County customers may not have their power restored between the two shutoff events.
The county of Lake said that scenario – of remaining without power over the course of both shutoffs, with no break – is a possibility.
Local governments and agencies staffed up, monitoring situation
With the outage expected to continue early into the new week, school districts around Lake County – Lakeport, Lucerne, Kelseyville, Konocti, Middletown and Upper Lake – reported that they will remain closed on Monday. If power is restored by 6 a.m. Tuesday, districts anticipate reopening. They urged people to stay tuned for followup messages.
The city of Lakeport said its Public Works and departments, and city emergency operations staff continue to monitor the situation and work to maintain all city infrastructure.
The Lakeport Police Department continues to have additional staff working to patrol and protect neighborhoods and business districts.
The city of Lakeport said it also is working in cooperation with the Lakeport Fire Protection District, which has increased staffing in the event they need to respond to emergency fire situations.
At the same time, the cities and county government are offering mutual aid to Sonoma County due to the Kincade fire. Assistance has included law enforcement personnel assisting with patrolling the vast Kincade fire evacuation area.
PG&E reported that community resource centers – where people can get water, and charge their phones and medical equipment – remain available from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. during the current outage.
Centers in Lake County are at the Clearlake Senior Community Center, 3245 Bowers Ave.; Konocti Vista Casino, 2755 Mission Rancheria Road, Lakeport; and Upper Lake Unified School District, 725 Old Lucerne Road. The center at Twin Pine Casino & Hotel in Middletown closed Sunday.
The city of Clearlake has additionally announced that Austin Park has public wifi and restroom facilities that are available for use.
For a list of businesses that are remaining open, visit the city of Lakeport Web site.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
