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Smoke obscures the view behind transmission power lines in the Oakland Hills of Oakland, Calif., August 18, 2021. PG&E warned customers in East and North Bay could experience power outages starting Monday October 11 due to dry winds and the risk of forest fires.
Douglas Zimmerman / SFGateParts of the North and East Bay could see power outages on Monday, Pacific Gas & Electric said on Saturday.
The potential public safety outages – the cuts PG&E is planning to prevent wildfires – are in response to dry, gusty winds that are expected to start Monday morning. The National Weather Service also issued a fire weather watch for the interior regions of the eastern North Bay Mountains and East Bay Hills beginning Sunday evening and through Tuesday.
Wind gusts, combined with drought and dry vegetation, increase the risk that a small spark will start a forest fire.
In the Bay Area, the outages could affect nearly 8,000 customers in Alameda, Contra Costa, Napa, Solano and Sonoma counties, among other counties in California, according to the utility. Statewide, the closures could affect 44,000 customers in 32 counties, PG&E warned.
The company began advising potentially affected customers on Saturday via text message, email, and an automated phone call. Customers can also search for their address online to see if they might be affected.
Danielle Echeverria is a writer for the San Francisco Chronicle. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @DanielleEchev
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