PG&E rolled out broad public safety shutoffs as the dry, windy setup expanded across the state. On the utility's map, numerous shutoff zones stretched across Northern California, spanning from Shasta County down through Napa and the San Ramon Valley east of the Bay Area. PowerOutage.com tallied more than 63,000 customers served by PG&E without power by 6 a.m. Thursday, local time.
With dangerous winds expected over much of California through Saturday, the US National Weather Service issued a 450-mile chain of red flag warnings that reaches the Southern California shoreline. This corridor includes more than 5.9 million residents. California is moving into the most perilous part of fire season, a period marked by very dry, hot winds pouring off the mountains toward the coast.
In Southern California, those are the Santa Anas, which typically kick up in October. The weather service said moderate to strong Santa Ana winds should hang on in the south through Saturday.
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PG&E warns that as many as 88,000 customers in higher-risk zones could see outages by Saturday. For its part, Edison International's Southern California utility is warning of possible shutoffs that may impact 257,000 homes and businesses spread over seven counties, including the foothills north of Pasadena and coastal areas like Malibu, Ventura and Santa Barbara. If you live or do business in these zones, the near-term story is simple: plan for intermittent power and watch how lingering Santa Anas into the weekend ripple through daily life, from store hours to cell coverage.
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