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DOSSIER – In this January 14, 2019, photo of the record, Pacific Gas & amp; Electric vehicles are parked at the PG & E Oakland Service Center in Oakland, California. The first fire hazard warning presented this year in Northern California puts Pacific Gas & amp; Electric on alert. The electricity company has announced that as of Saturday, June 8, 2019, thousands of customers in areas north of San Francisco and the foothills of the Sierra could shut down the power to reduce the risks of electricity. ;fire. (AP Photo / Ben Margot, File)
SAN FRANCISCO – Pacific Gas & Electric has announced that it would cut electricity to approximately 1,600 customers in Northern California and could do the same for thousands of others in order to reduce the risks of electricity. forest fires.
The electricity company announced Friday night that it would cut electricity to customers in Napa, Solano and Yolo counties, west of Sacramento.
The electricity company has announced that it will also monitor the conditions in some parts of the Sierra, from Saturday evening to Sunday, at the highest risk of fire. The company said it could decide to cut electricity to 30,000 customers in Butte, Yuba, Nevada, El Dorado and Placer counties.
This includes parts of Paradise, where a fire destroyed nearly 15,000 homes last year.
The warning was issued when forecasters launched the first red flag of the year signaling a high risk of fire due to high winds, low humidity and warm temperatures in parts of the Central Valley and north from San Francisco.
After previous fires were attributed to power lines and PG & E equipment, the utility was under tremendous pressure to prevent another deadly fire.
Facing lawsuits from insurance companies and fire victims, the company filed for bankruptcy protection and replaced several of its key executives.
These areas are those where the most devastating forest fires of the state have occurred in the past two years.
"The safety of our customers and the communities we serve is our most important responsibility, we know how much our customers depend on electricity, and our decision tonight to cut the power is to protect our exposed communities. at an extreme fire danger, "said Michael Lewis, PG & E's senior vice president of electrical operations said in a statement.
The utility stated that it took into account a number of factors to determine if power should be shut off for safety reasons. They include periods of excessive wind and low humidity when the vegetation is dry and can ignite easily.
Officials from the state's fire departments said that the grass and shrubs of the valley and foothills had dried despite an exceptionally rainy spring.
"The humidity remained up to us until May, but the Mediterranean climate makes it disappear quickly," said Scott McLean, spokesman for the Ministry of Forests and Protection against the California fire.
The warning is in effect until 17 hours. Sunday.
Once the power is off, PG & E announced that its crews would inspect all de-energized lines before turning on power, a process that keeps the lights off for days, even after conditions improve. .
Preventative failures could be disruptive to customers while putting those who depend on electricity at risk.
Last week, state regulators approved the possibility for utilities to cut electricity when the fire risk is extremely high. The California Public Utilities Commission stated that public services should better inform and inform the public, particularly people with disabilities and vulnerable people, and intensify their prevention efforts, such as clearing and installing post-cutters. fire.
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