LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Due to a strong and dry offshore wind event forecast for the weekend that has resulted in a red flag warning for much of Northern California, Pacific Gas and Electric Co. said it is planning a public safety power shutoff that could impact a small portion of Lake County’s population.

Due to high winds forecast from early Sunday morning through Monday, the National Weather Service has issued a red flag warning from Lake County and much of the region that’s in effect from 9 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 26, to 8 a.m. Monday, Sept. 28.

Officials said winds are forecasted to reach peak gusts of 35 to 50 miles per hour in the hills above 1,000 feet and low relative humidity values of 10 to 25 percent.

In response to the red flag warning, the Cal Fire Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit said it has increased its staffing on all available engines not already on the 25 major fires across the state.

PG&E said it’s continuing to monitor the wind event and, given the expected weather conditions, the company began its one-day advance notifications to customers in areas where it may need to proactively turn power off for safety to reduce the risk of wildfire from energized power lines.

The potential public safety power shutoff, or PSPS, expected to start early Sunday morning, could impact approximately 97,000 customers in portions of 15 counties in the Northern Sierra and the northern Sacramento Valley.

PG&E said customers in portions of Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, El Dorado, Kern, Lake, Napa, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Shasta, Sierra, Tehama and Yuba counties are being notified.

In Lake County, PG&E said it has notified 55 customers, two of them being medical baseline customers.

PG&E said late Friday afternoon that the anticipated scope and timing of this event has changed from earlier announcements, based on updated weather forecasts that showed stronger wind gusts in a larger portion of PG&E’s service area.

The company said its in-house meteorologists, as well as its Wildfire Safety Operation Center and Emergency Operations Center, continue to monitor conditions closely and additional notifications will be made on Friday to customers who may be impacted by this event.
Customers can look up their address online to find out if their location is being monitored for the potential safety shutoff at www.pge.com/pspsupdates or www.pge.com/pspszipcodealerts, PG&E reported.

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