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SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – The largest utility in California cut electricity to 24,000 customers in the north of the country, as the fall was causing dangerous weather and the company was trying to fight fires caused by fire. electrical equipment.
The power company cut power to Butte County, Nevada and Yuba counties in the foothills of Sierra Nevada.
Electricity will remain off until security conditions are restored, and PG & E has warned that it could expand preventable outages in El Dorado, Placer, Sutter, Lake, Napa counties and Sonoma if gusty winds and hot, dry weather continued.
Butte County is where a forest fire attributed to PG & E transmission lines killed 86 people last year and nearly razed the city of Paradise.
At the same time, southern California, Edison, warned that it could cut power to 41,000 customers due to the forecast of gusty winds in Santa Ana.
The reductions could affect the counties of Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino and Riverside.
Strong winds, low humidity and warm temperatures were expected in the state, and the authorities issued an extreme fire danger warning for some areas.
Gusts of wind could reach 50 mph (80 km / h) in the northern Sierra and foothills, and between 30 and 40 mph (48 to 64 km / h) in the Sacramento Valley and near the Pacific coast, said Eric Kurth, a forecaster of the National Weather Service. .
"Moisture levels are going down and the winds are rising," Kurth said. "The main threat is at night when the winds rise in the mountains and foothills."
Some of the most destructive fires in the state in the past two years have been triggered by PG & E power lines. Winds can knock over electrical wires and utility poles or push trees and other vegetation into contact with them. this.
Last October, PG & E made a first power outage, affecting some 87,000 customers. The move has caused complaints and claims for reimbursement.
But the utility has canceled its planned power outage before the deadly November 8 fire that erupted near Paradise.
An investigation by Cal Fire revealed that utility-owned transmission lines operated by the latter had caused the fire that had ravaged nearly 15,000 homes.
California authorities approved last May to allow utilities to cut electricity to prevent catastrophic fires, but said utilities needed to do a better job by stepping up prevention efforts and informing them and informing the public, especially people with disabilities and vulnerable people.
In January, PG & E filed for bankruptcy protection, claiming that it could not afford damage estimated at $ 30 billion following lawsuits resulting from catastrophic wildfires.
Earlier this month, PG & E agreed to pay $ 11 billion to insurance companies holding 85% of fire-related claims, including the Paradise fire.
The settlement is subject to the approval of the bankruptcy court.
It's important for PG & E to avoid bankruptcy protection, as this fund will be an essential part of a fund created to help California's big utilities cope with future demands, with climate change making fires More frequent and more severe forest.
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