Thousands in Bay Area could lose power due to PG&E shut-offs

LATEST Oct. 14, 12:30 p.m.PG&E has increased the number of California residents who may lose power as high winds and dry weather are expected. Now, 88,000 state residents across 29 counties are at risk of power shut-offs in the coming days as a high-pressure system moves in, leading to low humidity and high winds. 

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In the Bay Area, over 11,000 customers could see power outages. A red flag warning issued for parts of the central Sierra Nevada and Lake County starts at 4 a.m. on Thursday. 

In Southern California, where a red flag warning has been issued starting for parts of Los Angeles and Ventura counties, the National Weather Service warned that dry winds are already picking up in mountain areas with gusts reaching 40 to 50 mph, while winds in the western San Fernando Valley have reached up to 35 mph on Wednesday.

Oct. 14, 9:41 a.m.Thousands of Bay Area residents could lose power for days due to PG&E shut-offs in multiple counties starting Wednesday evening. 

On Tuesday, PG&E issued a warning about the potential shut-offs as high winds and dry conditions are forecast to arrive this week across much of the state, increasing the chance of wildfires starting due to downed power lines.

In the Bay Area, over 11,000 PG&E customers could see power outages in the counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, Napa, Solano and Sonoma, as hot and dry Diablo winds will likely peak on Thursday. Statewide, PG&E predicts that around 70,000 customers could lose power in 29 counties due to the high-risk weather pattern. 

The warning comes as a high-pressure ridge moves into the area from the Pacific Ocean.

“Little to no cloud cover is expected overnight with upper level ridging keeping the marine layer mixed out. This in turn is creating much drier daytime and overnight conditions, particularly across the higher elevations,” read the National Weather Service’s forecast discussion for the Bay Area.

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Roger Gass, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service, said the Bay Area is expected to see the warmest weather on Thursday and Friday, with San Francisco potentially reaching 80 degrees while the interior North and East Bay could reach the 90s.

“The most notable concern is across the North Bay, where we could see afternoon humidity dropping to around 15 to 25%, especially in the higher elevations,” he said. 

Winds at elevations over 1,000 feet in the Bay Area are expected to be around 15 mph, with gusts reaching 25 to 35 mph on Thursday evening, Gass said.

Stronger winds are forecast in the eastern and southern portions of the state, and the weather service has issued a red flag warning for Los Angeles and Ventura counties this week, with winds expected to reach 20 to 30 mph with gusts nearing 60 mph. Meanwhile, some interior areas in the counties of San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara are currently under a fire weather watch. Southern California Edison is warning that shut-offs are possible in Malibu, nearly two years after the devastating Palisades Fire ripped through the area. 

This is the first Santa Ana wind event of the season, according to the weather service, as the high winds are arriving amid low humidity levels.

“If fire ignition occurs, conditions are favorable for extreme fire behavior which would threaten life and property,” the weather service warned.