Although P.G. & E. is continuing to monitor the weather and this evolving situation, a Public Safety Power Shut-Off is scheduled to begin at Noon today in many parts of Santa Cruz County. Although it’s scheduled to begin at Noon, from what we hear, that could mean anytime between noon and 4 p-m today. P.G. & E. customers are asked to prepare for the power to be off for 5 days, as it can take several days to check all of the segments of the de-energized powerlines before the power can be restored to each area.
People are encouraged to make sure they have stores of non-perishable food that neither needs to be cooked or refrigerated; a full tank of gasoline in their vehicles, as most gas pumps won’t work when the power is off; and enough cash, because Debit and Credit Cards won’t work when the power is off.
People counting on eating canned food need to have a manual can opener on-hand.
Keeping battery operated flashlights, lanterns, and radios, as well as extra batteries on hand can be very useful during extended power outages.
For people with generators, P.G. & E. offers the following Safety Tips:
- make sure the total electric load on your generator will not exceed the manufacturer’s rating;
- make sure your generator’s exhaust will vent safely
Speaking of things ‘venting safely’, camp stoves should never be used inside a residence.
For area residents who have propane, they are encouraged to check their tanks and get them filled so they don’t run out of propane.
Pacific Gas and Electric Co. has started its first phase of power shutoffs across Northern and Central California, leaving roughly 513,000 customers without power ahead of a forecast high wind event and elevated wildfire dangers.
PG&E said its Public Safety Power Shutoff will eventually impact nearly 800,000 customers across 34 counties, the utility said. At 12 a.m. today, the utility started cutting power to 513,000 customers in the following 22 counties:
- Amador
- Butte
- Calaveras
- Colusa
- El Dorado
- Glenn
- Humboldt
- Lake
- Marin
- Mendocino
- Napa
- Nevada
- Placer
- Plumas
- Shasta
- Sierra
- Solano
- Sonoma
- Tehama
- Trinity
- Yolo
- Yuba
Around 234 thousand more pg& e customers will lose power during a second phase of shutoffs set to start around noon today.
The other counties scheduled for the second phase of the power shutoffs are:
- Alameda
- Alpine
- Contra Costa
- Mariposa
- San Joaquin
- San Mateo
- Santa Clara
- Santa Cruz
- Stanislaus
- Tuolumne
PG&E said it’s considering a third phase of shutoffs for the southernmost portions of its service area that could impact about 42,000 customers. Counties included in that phase would be Santa Barbara and Kern.
The Public Safety Power Shut-Offs in Santa Cruz county are expected to be in: Boulder Creek, Brookdale, Scotts Valley, Ben Lomond, Bonny Doon, Davenport, Felton, Mount Hermon, Santa Cruz, Capitola, Soquel, Aptos, Corralitos, Freedom, La Selva Beach, and Watsonville.
