The largest utility in California has warned it may cut off power for large parts of the northern part of the Golden State starting Wednesday and Thursday to prevent its equipment from sparking wildfires during expected warm, windy weather.The National Weather Service has issued a red flag warning from 5 a.m. Wednesday until 5 p.m. Thursday for the North Bay Mountains and Valleys and East Bay hills and valleys in the San Francisco Bay Area due to "extreme fire danger." "Really extreme fire weather is what we're looking at right now, what the weather models are showing,” Cal Fire Chief Mike Mohler told FOX40 on Monday, adding: "This is the largest, most concerning event that we've had in 2019." Cal Fire said the agency is preparing for a widespread period of conditions that could allow blazes to spread and is starting additional aircraft, ground crews, and personnel to respond if needed. CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES: SEEKING SOLUTIONS TO A WICKED PROBLEM A similar warning has been issued for the Santa Cruz Mountains from 5 p.m. Wednesday through noon on Thursday due to a combination of "gusty and potentially strong, damaging north or northeast winds" combined with low humidity. "Strongest winds are expected in the hills, but gusty winds will develop locally in the valleys and near the coast as well," the NWS San Francisco Bay Area office said in a forecast discussion. "These conditions will result in critical fire weather conditions from Wednesday into Thursday, especially across the North Bay, East Bay, and Santa Cruz Mountains." Forecasters said the windy stretch of weather may be the strongest offshore wind event in the area since the October 2017 North Bay Fires. In Northern California, Pacific Gas & Electric announced possible blackouts in 30 northern and central counties starting Wednesday that could affect more than 600,000 customers. The utility said that, based on the latest forecast models, the peak winds will occur from early Wednesday morning to Thursday midday and customers may be affected by a power shutoff even if they are not experiencing extreme weather conditions in their specific location. Pacific Gas & Electric said it could cut off power to a large swath of Northern California later this week to prevent its equipment from starting wildfires during hot, windy weather. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File) “This is shaping up to be one of the most severe dry wind events we’ve seen in our territory in recent years and we want our customers to be prepared for an extended outage that may last several days," Michael Lewis, senior vice president, PG&E Electric Operations, said in a statement. “We want our customers to be aware that, based on this number, it could take several days to fully restore power after the weather passes and safety inspections are completed.” While PG&E has not confirmed any power shutoffs, the local police departments have announced that outages are likely. The Lafayette Police Department said that 21,421 PG&E
California wildfire risk may cause power outages in 30 counties for more than 600,000 customers
The largest utility in California has warned it may cut off power for large parts of the northern part of the Golden State starting Wednesday and Thursday to prevent its equipment from sparking wildfires during expected warm, windy weather.The National Weather Service has issued a red flag warning from 5 a.m. Wednesday until 5 p.m. Thursday for the North Bay Mountains and Valleys and East Bay hills and valleys in the San Francisco Bay Area due to "extreme fire danger." "Really extreme fire weather is what we're looking at right now, what the weather models are showing,” Cal Fire Chief Mike Mohler told FOX40 on Monday, adding: "This is the largest, most concerning event that we've had in 2019." Cal Fire said the agency is preparing for a widespread period of conditions that could allow blazes to spread and is starting additional aircraft, ground crews, and personnel to respond if needed. CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES: SEEKING SOLUTIONS TO A WICKED PROBLEM A similar warning has been issued for the Santa Cruz Mountains from 5 p.m. Wednesday through noon on Thursday due to a combination of "gusty and potentially strong, damaging north or northeast winds" combined with low humidity. "Strongest winds are expected in the hills, but gusty winds will develop locally in the valleys and near the coast as well," the NWS San Francisco Bay Area office said in a forecast discussion. "These conditions will result in critical fire weather conditions from Wednesday into Thursday, especially across the North Bay, East Bay, and Santa Cruz Mountains." Forecasters said the windy stretch of weather may be the strongest offshore wind event in the area since the October 2017 North Bay Fires. In Northern California, Pacific Gas & Electric announced possible blackouts in 30 northern and central counties starting Wednesday that could affect more than 600,000 customers. The utility said that, based on the latest forecast models, the peak winds will occur from early Wednesday morning to Thursday midday and customers may be affected by a power shutoff even if they are not experiencing extreme weather conditions in their specific location. Pacific Gas & Electric said it could cut off power to a large swath of Northern California later this week to prevent its equipment from starting wildfires during hot, windy weather. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File) “This is shaping up to be one of the most severe dry wind events we’ve seen in our territory in recent years and we want our customers to be prepared for an extended outage that may last several days," Michael Lewis, senior vice president, PG&E Electric Operations, said in a statement. “We want our customers to be aware that, based on this number, it could take several days to fully restore power after the weather passes and safety inspections are completed.” While PG&E has not confirmed any power shutoffs, the local police departments have announced that outages are likely. The Lafayette Police Department said that 21,421 PG&E
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