San Francisco, CA…PG&E announced today that its meteorological and operations teams in its Emergency Operations Center continue to monitor a potentially widespread, strong and dry wind event Wednesday morning through Thursday afternoon. The event will impact northern, central, coastal and Bay Area counties across much of PG&E’s service area.

In response to this anticipated event, the National Weather Service has issued a Fire Weather Watch for vast portions of Northern California for midweek. The National Interagency Fire Center’s Geographic Area Coordination Center is also forecasting significant fire potential across Northern California beginning on Wednesday of this week.

Due to the forecasted extreme weather conditions, PG&E is considering proactively turning off power for safety, and implementing a Public Safety Power Shutoff, across portions of approximately 30 northern, central, coastal and Bay Area counties.

Portions of counties that may be impacted include, but is not limited to: Alameda, Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Colusa, Contra Costa, El Dorado, Glenn, Lake, Mariposa, Mendocino, Napa, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, San Joaquin, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Shasta, Sierra, Solano, Sonoma, Stanislaus, Tehama, Tuolumne, Yolo and Yuba.

The main period of weather risk is early Wednesday morning through Thursday midday. The dry, windy weather pattern is expected to reach from the northern portions of PG&E’s service territory and down through the Sacramento Valley before spreading into the central areas of the state including most of the Bay Area.

PG&E will continue to monitor weather conditions and will be providing additional information regarding affected area this afternoon.

How Customers Can Prepare

As part of PSPS preparedness efforts, PG&E is asking customers to:

Update their contact information at pge.com/mywildfirealerts or by calling 1-866-743-6589 during normal business hours. PG&E will use this information to alert customers through automated calls, texts, and emails, when possible, prior to, and during, a Public Safety Power Shutoff.
Plan for medical needs like medications that require refrigeration or devices that need power.
Identify backup charging methods for phones and keep hard copies of emergency numbers.
Build or restock your emergency kit with flashlights, fresh batteries, first aid supplies and cash.
Keep in mind family members who are elderly, younger children and pets. Information and tips including a safety plan checklist are available at pge.com/wildfiresafety.
Learn more about wildfire risk and what to do before, during and after an emergency to keep your family safe at PG&E’s Safety Action Center.

While customers in high fire-threat areas are more likely to be affected by a Public Safety Power Shutoff event, any of PG&E’s more than 5 million electric customers could have their power shut off because the energy system relies on power lines working together to provide electricity across cities, counties and regions.

Generator Safety

Backup electric generators can be a part of any preparedness plan, but they can also pose unique safety hazards.

It’s important to understand how to safely operate your generator before an emergency occurs. This means doing regular safety checks and being sure you have enough fuel to last a few days. If you don’t understand how to use your generator, you risk damaging your property, endangering your life and endangering the lives of others.

Position your generator where its exhaust can vent safely to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning, which can be fatal. Never run a portable generator in the garage or in the rain, and never store generator fuel in the house.

Additional tips on the safe use of generators can be found at PG&E’s Safety Action Center at www.safetyactioncenter.pge.com.

About PG&E

Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG), is one of the largest combined natural gas and electric energy companies in the United States. Based in San Francisco, with more than 20,000 employees, the company delivers some of the nation’s cleanest energy to nearly 16 million people in Northern and Central California. For more information, visit pge.com and pge.com/news.