Wine country customers in Napa and Lake counties are under a shutoff watch, along with customers in the smaller areas of Colusa, Glenn, Shasta, Solano, Tehama, and Yolo counties.
The utility “is monitoring a weather event with breezy, offshore winds and low humidity forecasted to start late Monday evening [July 1],” a company spokeswoman told The Epoch Times in an email.
The power shutoffs were expected to begin early Tuesday morning and could last through Wednesday, according to the PG&E spokeswoman.
The National Weather Service warned Monday of impending heat and wind that would make controlling wildfires difficult. The warning was issued for portions of the Sacramento Valley and Sierra Nevada foothills starting late Monday as winds of up to 35 miles per hour were expected, along with high heat and low humidity.
Six community centers will be opened in the affected communities, providing electricity, ice, wifi, blankets, water, snacks, and other resources, according to PG&E. The utility company will also inspect and patrol transmission lines to get the power back on as efficiently as possible, PG&E said.
“This potential [shutoff] would be the first of the 2024 wildfire season, demonstrating our proactive approach to community safety and wildfire prevention,” the spokeswoman said.
The state has experienced record-breaking wildfires in the past few years, many caused by sparks from utility equipment. PG&E has been blamed for more than 30 wildfires in the state since 2017.
PG&E agreed to pay more $45 million to California for its involvement in the deadly 2021 Dixie fire. The fire, which started on July 13, 2021, and grew to nearly 1 million acres (about 1,500 square miles), ignited after a tree fell and struck equipment owned and operated by the utility.
The National Weather Service issued extreme heat and red-flag fire warnings this week, urging the public to avoid actions that could lead to wildfires, such as throwing matches or cigarettes out of car windows, leaving fires unattended, or failing to fully extinguish fires and cooking charcoal.
An extensive heat watch was issued for July 2 through July 5 in Northern California and the Sacramento Valley, where temperatures will reach 111 in some Northern California places.
“If a fire were to start in these conditions, it has the potential to spread rapidly and exhibit extreme fire behavior,” said Cal Fire’s Sonoma-Lake-Napa Deputy Chief Matt Ryan. “We want to remind residents and visitors to take fire safety precautions this week and to make sure you are preparing yourself in the event a wildfire should start near you.”
The department urged residents to have an evacuation plan in place, pack a bag with essential items, and sign up for emergency alert notifications.
