Pacific Gas and Electric Co. began shutting off power in parts of Northern California on Wednesday night as dry offshore winds and low humidity raised wildfire concerns across the region.
The utility said public safety power shutoffs were required through Thursday in parts of Napa, Solano, Sonoma, Colusa, Glenn, Lake, Sutter, Tehama and Yolo counties. In the Bay Area, the Chronicle’s PG&E outage map showed several public safety power shutoffs Thursday morning in parts of the North Bay.
The update marks a significant shift from PG&E’s earlier forecast, which had said shutoffs were possible in parts of eight counties.
PG&E said the outages were intended to reduce the risk that electrical equipment could ignite a wildfire during dangerous weather. The company said its emergency operations center remained activated for a dry offshore wind event expected to continue into midday Thursday.
Northerly winds were forecast to reach 15 to 25 mph across the Sacramento Valley, with gusts of 25 to 35 mph and locally stronger gusts possible along the valley’s west side. Winds were expected to spread into elevated North Bay terrain overnight into Thursday, where peak gusts over prominent peaks such as Mount St. Helena could top 50 mph, according to PG&E’s meteorology team.
The National Weather Service issued red flag warnings for parts of the Sacramento Valley and higher terrain in the North Bay and East Bay, citing gusty winds and low humidity. The Bay Area warning was in effect until 9 a.m. Thursday for the North Bay interior mountains and East Bay hills.
The shutoffs are taking place as the Bay Area and inland Northern California face a sharp warm-up. Thursday is expected to be even hotter than Wednesday, with triple-digit temperatures possible along the Interstate 680 corridor in the East Bay, much of Solano County and northern parts of Wine Country.
Warm overnight temperatures could make outages more difficult. Eastern Solano and Contra Costa counties may not drop below 70 degrees, and some hilly areas above 1,000 feet could remain in the 70s overnight, according to the weather service.