A PG&E spokesperson said Friday afternoon that power has been restored to some, but not yet all, of the customers affected across five Bay Area counties by power shutoffs the utility company implemented starting Wednesday to prevent its equipment from sparking wildfires.
PG&E had announced what it calls Public Safety Power Shutoffs for about 90,000 customers across 29 counties starting Wednesday evening due to dry and windy weather. The National Weather Service issued a Red Flag Warning for interior North Bay mountains that was in effect through 11 a.m. Friday because of elevated wildfire dangers due to low humidity and wind gusts of up to 60 mph at the highest peaks.
Thousands of the affected customers were in five Bay Area counties — Alameda, Contra Costa, Napa, Solano and Sonoma.
PG&E spokesperson Tamar Sarkissian said Alameda County had 4,720 customers affected, and 1,666 of those had power restored as of Friday afternoon. Contra Costa County had 1,607 customers and 458 of those restored, while Napa County had 2,915 customers affected and 323 restored so far.
In Solano County, only 32 customers were affected and all of those have their power back on, while in Sonoma County, crews had restored power to 952 of the 2,0444 customers affected, according to Sarkissian.
The power shutoffs are expected to last into Saturday, though milder weather is expected this weekend and into early next week.
People can visit pge.com/pspsupdates to find out if their location is affected by the power shutoffs.
PG&E has opened community resource centers in affected areas that offer restrooms, device charging, Wi-Fi, bottled water and snacks, and other supplies. A list of the centers by county can be found online.
PG&E is also encouraging customers who may need additional support to contact 211, including those who rely on power for medical needs or who have a disability.
