Pacific Gas and Electric Company has warned approximately 70,000 customers across 29 California counties of potential preemptive power shutoffs starting Wednesday evening. Driven by high winds and dry conditions, the planned outages aim to reduce wildfire risks through Saturday.
Pacific Gas and Electric Company activated its Emergency Operations Center ahead of a potentially prolonged dry offshore wind event forecasted to run from Wednesday evening, October 14, through Saturday evening, October 17 across twenty-nine counties. The utility issued advance notifications on Tuesday afternoon to about 70,000 customers in targeted areas where electricity may be proactively turned off to reduce wildfire risks from energized powerlines amid extremely dry vegetation.
Wind Forecasts and Affected Regions Across Northern and Central California
The strongest winds are expected in the Sierra Nevada, the southern Central Coast, and portions of the North and East Bay. According to utility meteorologists, winds blowing from inland areas toward the coast will strengthen beginning Wednesday evening and continue through much of the week.
WATCHING THE WINDThe north breeze will weaken tonight in the Valley. But gusty EAST winds will pick up in the Sierra & Foothills early Thursday morning – late Friday. @PGE4Me cites the wind forecast & dry air/fuels as the reason for widespread PSPS outages. @kcranews pic.twitter.com/PXxabz5JlG
— https://x.com/KCRAHeather/status/2110148088560238911
Statewide, the potential Public Safety Power Shutoff event affects customers across 29 counties, including approximately 3,920 Medical Baseline customers and five tribal governments according to utility figures. Around 4,000 customers who experienced power shutoffs last weekend could lose electricity again during the approaching wind event, while approximately 5,700 customers originally included have since been de-scoped.
Company spokesperson Jeff Smith stated that the utility evaluates humidity levels alongside sustained winds exceeding 19 miles per hour and gusts of 30 to 40 miles per hour. While forecasters noted that conditions would not trigger formal National Weather Service Red Flag Warnings in every corner of the region, the utility maintains separate operational criteria that can trigger shutoffs when low moisture content in vegetation elevates ignition dangers.
- San Luis Obispo County: approximately 10,460 customers
- Placer County: 9,063 customers
- Calaveras County: 8,550 customers
- El Dorado County: 6,907 customers
- Sonoma County: 1,783 customers
- Napa County: 3,027 customers
- Lake County: 57 customers
- Mendocino County: 27 customers
- Solano County: 30 customers
- Tuolumne County: 1,835 customers
- Mariposa County: 951 customers
- Amador County: 53 customers
- Alameda County: 4,705 customers
- Contra Costa County: 1,600 customers
Berkeley Hills Residents Prepare for Preemptive Shutoffs
In the Berkeley Hills, preemptive shutoffs could affect 4,705 customers in Alameda County starting Thursday morning along Grizzly Peak Boulevard and near UC Berkeley’s campus. Residents in Walnut Creek, such as Lissa and Mike Biddle, evaluated their preparations after receiving utility alerts. I don’t want any fires, so if shutting down the electricity prevents us from getting a fire in this area, that’s fine,
Lissa Biddle noted in her neighborhood.
“We’re prepared from that standpoint, but that’s about it… we’ll have to get by, I guess, without power for a few days.”
Mike Biddle, Walnut Creek resident
In Central California, foothill residents recalled past emergencies as winds threatened dry terrain. Henry Crowe of Auberry noted past memories of the Creek Fire when observing current conditions. Local agencies stepped up patrols and operational readiness. The Madera County Sheriff’s Office staffed its Emergency Operations Center and added deputies to foothill communities. We also want to deter anybody who may take advantage of the power outages. But also if somebody’s phone does not work or it’s not charged and they need to flag us down, hopefully we’re driving past,
said Kate Woertman with the Madera County Sheriff’s Office.
Community Resource Centers and Safety Guidelines
Utility representatives emphasized that individual zones will experience outages at varying times rather than a simultaneous statewide cutoff. They won’t take place all at the same time; some areas could start tomorrow, but we’re going to be monitoring conditions for the next two or three days,
said PG&E spokesperson Jeff Smith regarding the rolling schedule.
To assist affected populations, PG&E is sourcing Community Resource Centers across affected counties. These centers provide ADA-accessible restrooms, device charging, Wi-Fi, blankets, air conditioning, bottled water, and snacks. Local fire protection districts also issued generator safety reminders. Jacob Poganski of the El Dorado County Fire Protection District urged residents to keep generators at least 20 feet away from house openings to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning.
Customers can verify specific address statuses using online mapping tools provided by the utility, or contact local 211 services for emergency preparedness support.
