Jessica SkropanicRedding Record Searchlight
Utility companies may shut off power to some Shasta County and other North State customers this week due to critical fire weather, with meteorologists warning extreme heat is on the way.
Pacific Gas and Electric Company executives announced they may turn off power on Tuesday and Wednesday to as many as 12,000 customers in far Northern California counties, including Shasta and Tehama, to avoid risk of sparking fires.
As the situation develops, here are updates.
Scroll down for updates to this story as it develops.
3:45 p.m. Tuesday: Power outages rock Lassen County
Lassen Municipal Utility District in Susanville has reported that 9,800 of its 10,407 customers east of Lassen Volcanic National Park are without power as of 3:08 p.m. Tuesday.
Utility company Pacific Gas and Electric "dropped the transmission lines" to the Lassen Muni and Honey Lake Power districts. Those lines supply electricity to 6,357 customers in Susanville, 1,077 customers in Westwood and 906 customers in Eagle Lake, as well as to the communities of Janesville, Standish, Litchfield, Leavitt Lake, Lake Forest and other rural locations, according to Lassen Muni.
Crews were working on the lines throughout the day, but there's no estimated time when repairs will be complete, according to an update posted by Lassen Muni Tuesday afternoon. The cause of the outage is under investigation, the utility company said.
Temperatures hovered in the mid-90s on Tuesday, but will rise to the high 90s by July 4. The heat wave will peak around 105 degrees on Saturday, according to the National Weather Service.
Customers can check current outages at lmud.org/customer-services/outage-center.
11:45 a.m. Tuesday: PG&E shuts off power to some customers, pushes back power shutoff window to others
PG&E announced Tuesday morning it shut off power to approximately 2,000 customers in eight of what the utility says is now 10 counties under its Public Safety Power Shutoff advisory.
There was some good news for Shasta County PG&E customers. the utility company announced Tuesday morning it pushed back the timetable for the PSPS advisory for approximately 10,000 customers, most who live or work in Shasta and Glenn counties.
Outages are delayed for those customers due to "favorable weather conditions", according to PG&E spokesman Paul Moreno.
Staff will continue monitoring weather conditions in both counties, and will announce an update on the timeline for those customers when there's more information, Moreno announced.
As of 8 a.m., here's how many PG&E customers are under the PSPS advisory by county/tribe:
- Tehama: 917 customers
- Butte County: 314 customers
- Colusa: 25 customers, plus 10 customers at Cortina Rancheria
- Lake: 174 customers
- Napa: 19 customers
- Solano: 114 customers
- Sonoma: 13 customers
- Yolo: 230 customers
Monday, July 1: PG&E warns of possible power shutoffs in Shasta County during 'fire weather,' heat wave
Utility companies may shut off power to some Shasta County and other North State customers this week due to critical fire weather, with meteorologists warning extreme heat is on the way.
Pacific Gas and Electric Company executives announced they may turn off power to 12,000 customers in parts of eight Northern California counties, including Shasta and Tehama, on Tuesday and Wednesday to avoid risk of sparking fires.
That announcement came after the National Weather Service warned of extremely dry conditions with upcoming gusty winds and daily high temperatures of over 110 degrees. Those conditions could make it easy to spark fires and allow current ones to spread fast, according to Kate Forrest, meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s Sacramento branch.
The weather service issued a Red Flag Warning for potential fire weather for the Sacramento Valley, including the Redding area. The warning will take effect at 11 p.m. Monday, July 1 and last until at least 8 p.m. on Wednesday, July 3.
Where PG&E customers could lose power
High fire risk due to weather prompted PG&E officials to issue a Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) advisory for much of the Sacramento Valley. The advisory covers 8,888 customers in Shasta County, 1,855 in Tehama County and customers in Colusa, Glenn, Lake, Napa, Solano and Yolo counties.
Severe fire weather “can cause trees or debris to damage (power lines and other) equipment. If there is dry vegetation, this could lead to a wildfire,” PG&E announced.
The utility reported it considers several conditions before turning power off:
- When humidity levels drop below 30%. Humidity levels will likely drop into the teens this week, according to the weather service.
- When the forecast includes strong winds. Strong gusty winds are expected to blow through Wednesday.
- When dry vegetation, grasses and other material are on the ground, or is growing near powerlines. PG&E has thousands of miles of power line going through wilderness areas as well as through urban and rural communities.
- When the National Weather Service issues high fire danger warnings/Red Flag Warnings, or when ground crews or weather “experts” observe high-fire conditions. The weather service issued a Red Flag Warning for Tuesday and Wednesday.
The weather service also issued an Excessive Heat Warning for Shasta County to stay in effect from 11 a.m. Tuesday through 8 p.m. Sunday. Although winds will likely calm later in the week, vegetation and the air over the North State will remain dry as temperatures spike to 114 degrees on Thursday and Friday, Forrest said.
More: July 4th heat wave brings high fire risk
PG&E reported it started sending out notifications Sunday — via texts, emails and phone calls — to customers living in potential shutoff areas. Check shutoff status at your address at pge.com/pspsupdates.
Customers enrolled in PG&E’s Medical Baseline Program because they rely on electricity to keep their medical equipment functioning should receive additional updates through Wednesday or until the power shutoff period is over, the utility announced.
What to know about power outages during 'fire weather'
Redding Electric Utility’s 45,000 residential and business customers won’t lose power unless there’s actually an incident with a power line or other piece of equipment, according to Shawn Avery, Redding / REU Program Supervisor.
Unlike PG&E, the Redding-owned utility doesn’t use preemptive power safety shutoffs, Avery said. Instead, REU will increase the sensitivity of power lines in areas where fire risk is the greatest, so those lines will automatically shut off if a tree or other debris hits them, he said. “We increase those settings' sensitivity during the Red Flag Warning time periods” like the ones announced for this week, Avery said.
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Field crews respond when REU gets a warning that power to a line is out. But this week, more crews are on high alert due to the weather service’s Red Flag Warning, he said.
REU’s fire mitigation plan includes wrapping poles in a fire-resistant material and cutting back vegetation to reduce fire risk near the utility’s 700 miles of power lines, according to Avery. The Redding agency is also taking steps to keep trees and wind-driven flying debris from damaging power lines and sparking fires.
REU customers who experience an outage can check the city’s outage map at cityofredding.gov/outagemap for updates or call 530-339-7200.
Go here when temperatures rise, power is out
The Shasta County Health and Human Services agency lists public cooling centers with air conditioning, including libraries, on its website at tinyurl.com/mr3mjvz6. However, some locations close early in the day or don't open on certain days this week.
Other retreats include air conditioned businesses with seating, like the Mt. Shasta Mall and movie theaters. Some coffee shops and restaurants allow people to sip a cold drink and sit out the worst of the heat.
Late Monday afternoon, the HHSA said it plans to open additional temporary cooling centers in the county later this week.
According to the county's policy, health officials may choose to open temporary centers if there's a power outage with a heat index — a combination of air temperature and humidity — above 105 degrees.
Shasta County also considers opening additional cooling centers if there's an uptick in the number of heat-related illnesses, medical emergencies or deaths; any situation where the county's Health Officer determines that heat exposure puts lives in imminent danger; or if the daytime heat index rises above 110 degrees and the nighttime heat index goes above 80 degrees for two consecutive days.
The California Office of Emergency Services offers tips for people who lose power during a heatwave, especially those with medical conditions, at tinyurl.com/zetpwzwu.
The Red Cross and National Weather Service also give suggestions on how to protect yourself and others during a heat wave and how to recognize heat-related illnesses at weather.gov/ffc/heat2.
Jessica Skropanic is a features reporter for the Record Searchlight/USA Today Network. She covers science, arts, social issues and news stories.Followher on Twitter @RS_JSkropanicand on Facebook. Join Jessica in theGet Out! Nor Calrecreation Facebook group. To support and sustain this work, please subscribe today. Thank you.
