PG&E May Black Out 70,000 Homes Across 29 California Counties as Diablo Winds Arrive

PG&E May Black Out 70,000 Homes Across 29 California Counties as Diablo Winds Arrive

70,000 customers face a preemptive shutoff

Pacific Gas & Electric warned customers on Tuesday afternoon that it may switch off power to portions of 29 California counties starting Wednesday evening and lasting through Saturday afternoon, affecting roughly 70,000 customers. The utility had told reporters just a day earlier that about 30,000 customers in 22 counties were in scope, so the target more than doubled in 24 hours. The measure is a Public Safety Power Shutoff, the company's preemptive wildfire protocol, not an outage caused by equipment failure.

The utility calls it a last resort

In its news release, PG&E said the safety of its customers and communities is its top priority and that the decision to proactively turn power off "is not taken lightly," describing PSPS as one of many layers of wildfire protection deployed "as a measure of last resort." The company noted there were no weather-driven shutoffs at all in 2022, though this year has already brought several: May 17-18, June 10-11 and July 15-16. Spokespeople Tamar Sarkissian and Paul Moreno confirmed the timeline to Bay Area and Northern California outlets — preliminary alerts began Monday evening, followed by formal one-day advance notices on Tuesday afternoon.

Three wind systems, single-digit humidity

Weather is the direct trigger. PG&E said offshore Diablo winds will peak Thursday across the northern and central Sierra Nevada and push into parts of the North and East Bay. On Friday, Mono winds will be strongest in the southern Sierra, while Santa Ana winds expand into the southern Los Padres range and across the Tehachapi passes. The company's own forecast discussion warned that relative humidity will fall into the single digits or teens across most areas, with dry vegetation everywhere. The National Weather Service flagged "drier and windier" conditions in an Oct. 13 forecast discussion, but no red flag warning had been issued for the North Bay or Napa County as of Tuesday afternoon. The NWS Los Angeles/Oxnard office did post a red flag warning for Los Angeles and Ventura counties through 10 p.m. Friday, with gusts of 40 to 50 mph and humidity as low as 5 to 15 percent.

Five thresholds decide who loses power

PG&E published the criteria it weighs before de-energizing a line: relative humidity generally at or below 30 percent; forecast sustained winds above 19 mph with gusts above 30 to 40 mph; dry ground material and low vegetation moisture; a Red Flag Warning from the National Weather Service; and real-time observations from its Hazard Awareness and Warning Center and crews in the field. The company also pointed to Enhanced Powerline Safety Settings, which reduce ignition risk in high fire-threat areas, as a standing layer of protection that operates whether or not power is cut.

San Luis Obispo County tops the list; the Bay Area sees 11,000

County-by-county figures obtained by local stations put San Luis Obispo highest at 10,460 customers, followed by Placer at 9,063, Calaveras at 8,550, El Dorado at 6,907 and Fresno at 3,934. Five Bay Area counties account for roughly 11,000: Alameda 4,705, Contra Costa 1,605, Napa 3,027, Sonoma 1,783 and Solano 30. ABC7 reported that about 4,000 customers hit by shutoffs earlier in the week may be affected again, while roughly 5,700 have been dropped from the original scope.

Berkeley Hills and the UC Berkeley campus are in the footprint

KPIX reported that most of Alameda County's predicted shutoffs cluster in the Berkeley Hills, and the online outage map also covers the entire UC Berkeley campus. Berkeley Scanner drilled into local numbers: 2,053 customers in Berkeley could go dark, including more than 80 Medical Baseline customers who rely on power for medical equipment. Outages there would begin Thursday between 5:15 and 6 a.m. with restoration estimated by 2 p.m. Saturday. Oakland has 2,570 customers on the list, 127 of them Medical Baseline. In Santa Barbara County, 189 customers are expected to lose power Thursday between 10:30 a.m. and noon, with power back by 8 p.m. Saturday.

Roughly 2,000 Medical Baseline customers need a plan

The initial 22-county list included about 2,000 customers enrolled in PG&E's Medical Baseline program, which serves households with qualifying medical needs. For them, two days without electricity is not an inconvenience but a health risk: oxygen concentrators, refrigerated medications and powered mobility devices all need a backup. Those households are urged to arrange to stay with family or at a charging center before the wind arrives.

This follows a shutoff of 10,400 customers last weekend

The event is part of a pattern. CBS Sacramento reported that the previous PSPS began Friday and cut power to about 10,400 customers in Colusa, Glenn, Shasta, Tehama and Yolo counties early Sunday, and the Oct. 9 warning had originally covered 12,200 customers across 17 counties. Three rounds of warnings in a row have turned an early wind season into a recurring October routine — and help explain why PG&E speaks up in advance: the company has paid billions of dollars in wildfire settlements and now prefers preemptive cuts to ignition risk.

Charging centers, 211 and a Saturday restoration target

PG&E plans to open Community Resource Centers in affected counties, offering ADA-accessible restrooms, device charging, Wi-Fi, blankets, air conditioning, bottled water and snacks, with hours and locations posted at pge.com/pspsupdates; customers can call 211 for help preparing. Once the severe weather passes, crews will patrol and inspect lines and restore power as soon as it is safe, most areas by Saturday afternoon and the San Luis Obispo area by 8 p.m. Saturday.