To Avoid More California Wildfires, a Utility Tries Shutting Off the Power

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A fallen transformer and downed power lines in Santa Rosa, Calif., last year. Pacific Gas and Electric Company began pre-emptively turning off the power to some customers on Sunday to avoid causing wildfires.CreditCreditNhat V. Meyer/San Jose Mercury News, via Associated Press

By Matt Stevens and Sarah Mervosh

Oct. 15, 2018

Several of the wildfires that left stunning damage while ripping across California wine country last fall were caused by power lines, poles and other equipment owned by Pacific Gas and Electric Company.

So as weather conditions ripened for another blaze on Sunday, the utility — which has already been blamed for billions in fire damage — took an unprecedented step. Pacific Gas and Electric said it would pre-emptively turn off the power altogether in some parts of the state.

“We know how much our customers rely on electric service, and we have made the decision to turn off power as a last resort given the extreme fire danger conditions these communities are experiencing,” Pat Hogan, a senior vice president for the utility, said in a statement.

The shut-off was initially scheduled to begin around 5 p.m. local time for about 70,000 customers who live in the Sierra Foothills, an inland slice of Northern California east of Sacramento. The utility called the nine counties affected by the outage “extreme fire-risk areas.”

By about 8 p.m. Pacific Gas and Electric said it had turned off power in Lake, Napa and Sonoma Counties, parts of the North Bay that are home to some of the world’s best vineyards and top restaurants. The move affected more than 17,000 customers, the utility said.

In its statement, the utility said it began telling customers about the potential outages late Saturday.

But in brief telephone interviews on Sunday night, people working in the emergency room at two hospitals in the affected areas said they were unaware of an impending loss of power. A man who answered the phone at a men’s homeless shelter in Oroville, Calif., said that he, too, did not know about it and that the power was still on.

Matt Nauman, a spokesman for Pacific Gas and Electric, said customers were warned this year that the utility might pre-emptively turn off power in a situation like Sunday’s. “People have had multiple contacts,” he said, emphasizing that the utility had reached out to all customers that could be affected.

Taste, an upscale restaurant and wine bar in Plymouth, Calif., was preparing to serve customers on Sunday evening — with or without electricity.

“We’re going to put some extra candles out there and anyone who wants to hang out with us, we’re going to hang out here with them,” said Marc Jensen, the general manager and sommelier. But he added, “It definitely handicaps us.”

The restaurant had scheduled reservations for about 60 people on Sunday night and typically serves walk-ins as well, Mr. Jensen said as he prepared to put a note on the door alerting customers of the potential power outage. He said staff members were calling those who had made reservations to say they would still be served.

Many of the restaurant’s guests, he added, are visitors to Plymouth, a city of about 1,000 known for its proximity to wineries. “There’s not a lot out here,” Mr. Jensen said. “If we can’t feed them, who is going to feed them?”

At the GlenMorey Country House in Placerville, Calif., Tom and Alison Loeprich, the owners, were waiting to see whether the power would actually be cut off. They had been warned about an outage via calls and text messages.

Ms. Loeprich said they had to turn one potential customer away. “There was someone who called an hour ago,” she said on Sunday evening. “Tom was like, ‘I got to tell you though, we might lose power.’”

While no one else was staying at the bed-and-breakfast on Sunday night, customers were scheduled to arrive on Monday. “I’m starting to get anxious,” Ms. Loeprich said. “I’m downloading some Netflix shows just in case.”

The National Weather Service has issued advisories warning of high winds in the Sierra Foothills on Sunday and Monday that could have gusts of up to 55 miles per hour. Weather officials have also issued a red flag warning, which signals “critical fire weather conditions.”

The strong winds, forecasters said, “will significantly lower humidity and fuel moistures” leading to the critical fire weather conditions through Monday night. The warning could be extended for portions of inland Northern California into Tuesday, they said.

Pacific Gas and Electric cited the warnings in making its decision to turn off the power. It said most affected customers should expect to have their power restored by Monday night, with some outages potentially lasting into Tuesday.