Update: 10/26 at 3:20 p.m.
The city of Healdsburg was expecting to have no power as of 2 p.m. today, a Nixle report states.
“PG&E has informed us that they will be shutting off our transmission line at 2 p.m. today, Oct. 26, which means we will lose power citywide at that time. Therefore, we are encouraging everyone to leave by 2 PM. Please leave soon if you haven’t already.”
While Healdsburg operates its own power company, PG&E’s transmission lines serve as their power supply.
PG&E has announced that they will be turning off the power to more than 95,600 residents of Sonoma County, including customers in Annapolis, Bodega, Bodega Bay, Camp Meeker, Cazadero, Cloverdale, Cotati, Duncans Mills, Forestville, Freestone, Geyserville, Glen Ellen, Graton, Guerneville, Healdsburg, Jenner, Kenwood, Larkfield, Monte Rio, Occidental, Penngrove, Petaluma, Rio Nido, Rohnert Park, Santa Rosa, Sebastopol, Sonoma, Stewarts Point, Valley Ford, Villa Grande and Windsor.
The lights are supposed to go out in west Cloverdale around 5 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 26, though PG&E said that time might change depending on the weather.
Customers are encouraged to visit www.pge.com/eventmaps and use the address look up tool to confirm if they will be impacted by this PSPS event.
This is part of a large shut-off around northern California, affecting approximately 940,000 customers in 36 counties.
“This wind event is forecast to be the most serious weather situation that Northern and Central California has experienced in recent memory. We understand the widespread impacts this Public Safety Power Shutoff will have across Northern and Central California. We would only take this decision for one reason – to help reduce catastrophic wildfire risk to our customers and communities. There is no compromising the safety of our customers, which is our most important responsibility,” said Michael Lewis, PG&E’s senior vice president of Electric Operations.
Update: 10/25 at 7 p.m.
According to a city release, the U.S. National Weather Service is predicting that the weather forecasted this weekend — extremely strong, gusty winds and hot and dry temperatures — will be an unprecedented, historic event.
Based on these weather conditions, the city will shut off power for about 200 city electric customers in the Fitch Mountain area as noted on the maps in the gallery above. This is in the wildland urban interface. If your address is listed in the highlighted area, your power will go dark starting at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 26, and may not come back on until sometime on Monday, Oct. 28.
The city will provide a series of notifications to affected city electric customers: The city will phone-call, hang notices on your front doors, issue a Nixle alert, and provide further updates on the city’s website, Facebook and Nextdoor.
Update: 10/25/19 at 1:30 p.m.
PG&E has announced that there is potential for another PG&E Power Shutoff event that would impact significant portions of Sonoma County on Saturday (10/26), Sunday (10/27), and Monday (10/28). Due to the intensity of the forecasted weather and the likelihood of damage to PG&E’s infrastructure, it is anticipated that over 90,000 PG&E customers will be impacted for an extended period of time. Community members are urged to prepare now in the event of an extended outage lasting multiple days. Emergency officials will continue to update the public about this potential PG&E shutoff. The county and cities are working with the National Weather Service and PG&E to monitor this potential additional shutoff and will share more information when it is available.
The National Weather Service (NWS) upgraded the Fire Weather Watch to a Red Flag Warning for the North Bay mountains, valleys, and coastlines from 8 p.m. Saturday (10/26) to 11 a.m. Monday (10/28).
Confidence is high for dangerously strong offshore winds and critically low relative humidity. This event looks to be the strongest since the 2017 North Bay Fires and a potentially historic event given the strength and duration of the winds.
Strongest winds expected Saturday night into Sunday morning. Stronger winds mixing down to the lower elevations will be a particular concern throughout Sunday. Winds will gradually ease later Sunday, but remain locally gusty across higher elevations into Monday morning.
Several local public safety agencies across the County are up-staffing in response to the critical fire weather and local fires.
Update 10/24:
The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued a Fire Weather Watch for the North Bay valleys, mountains and coastline from Saturday evening Oct. 26 through Monday morning Oct. 28.
Northeast winds are expected to range from 15 to 30 mph with frequent gusts 45 to 55 mph and local gusts of 65 to 75 mph at wind prone peaks, such as Mt. Saint Helena and Mt. Diablo. Winds are anticipated to peak overnight Saturday into early Sunday morning before slowly decreasing Sunday afternoon.
A Fire Weather Watch means that critical fire weather conditions are forecast to occur. PG&E expects the NWS to upgrade this to a Red Flag Warning tomorrow.
Several local public safety agencies across the county are up-staffing in response to the critical fire weather and local fires. Stay alert and be aware of your surroundings; for up-to-date emergency information for Sonoma County, including evacuation information, visit www.SoCoemergency.org.
POWER SHUTOFF
Sonoma County has been notified that PG&E has received a weather “all clear” and has begun inspecting their infrastructure in preparation of restoring power. This work is necessary before PG&E can begin restoring power to areas impacted by the power shutoff. PG&E is projecting 100% power restoration to areas of Sonoma County impacted by the power shutoff by Friday, October 25 at 7 p.m., though many areas may have their power restored sooner. Due to damage and needed repairs, particularly in and around the footprint of the Kincade Fire, some areas of the county will experience delays in restoration.
For restoration updates, view PG&E’s restoration map at: http://critweb-outage.pgealerts.com/ or please contact PG&E at 800-743-5002.
POTENTIAL POWER SHUTOFF IN SONOMA COUNTY SATURDAY (10/26) THROUGH MONDAY (10/28)
On Wednesday, October 23rd, PG&E announced “elevated status” for another potential power shutoff in Sonoma County on Saturday (10/26), Sunday (10/27), and Monday (10/28). Emergency officials will continue to update the public about this potential PG&E shutoff. The County and cities are working with the National Weather Service and PG&E to monitor this potential additional shutoff and will share more information when it is available.
LOCAL RESPONSE ACTIONS
The Regional Joint Information Center (JIC) is currently staffed by the County of Sonoma and City of Santa Rosa and will remain open for local agencies during the current and potential weekend PG&E power shutoff. The following Emergency Operations Centers (EOC’s) are active and working with other local agencies to provide timely power shutoff information: City of Santa Rosa, County of Sonoma, City of Sonoma.
Outages may impact public safety systems, communications including emergency alerts, street lights, traffic signals, private water systems, transportation, schools, food storage, and the private sector.
INDIVIDUALS WITH MEDICAL NEEDS (VULNERABLE POPULATIONS)
In the event of a PG&E shutoff this weekend, staff with the Human Services Department Adult and Aging Division will contact older adult and disabled In-Home Supportive Services clients who live in the potential shutoff area who have vital medical devices that require electricity. Staff will help them plan for their needs and provide information and support to help ensure their well-being during a power outage.
Individuals with medical needs who are currently without power or may be affected by the potential shutoff this weekend are encouraged to contact their primary care providers about their needs during the power shutoff.
All Human Services Department buildings are open during the power shutoff. Clients needing help with Medi-Cal, CalFresh, General Assistance and other services will be able to visit the usual office locations from 8 am-5 pm, Monday – Friday.
COMMUNITY RESOURCES
PG&E opened Community Resource Centers (CRCs) today, Thursday (10/24) at 8 am. The Community Resource Centers will remain open from 8 am to 8 pm until power is restored. Restrooms, bottled water, electronic-device charging and seating for up to 100 are available at each location.
· Santa Rosa Veterans Memorial Building: 1351 Maple Avenue, Santa Rosa, CA 95401
· Hanna Boys Center: 17000 Arnold Drive, Sonoma, CA 95476
· Cloverdale Citrus Fair: 1 Citrus Fair, Cloverdale, CA 95425
The City of Sonoma opened a Charging Center at the Sonoma Veterans Building, 126 1st St W, Sonoma, CA 95476, from 8:00 am – 6:00 pm.Please remember to bring your own cords and follow the posted rules and expectations.
Mental Health Resources: Weather events and the power shutoffs may bring up emotional distress. The following organizations offer free, bilingual, mental health services to help individuals experiencing these concerns:
· HOPE Sonoma: Call (707) 291-3788
· Wildfire Mental Health Collaborative: Call NAMI at (866) 960-6264 or visit mysonomastrong.com
· Rebuilding Our Community (ROC) Sonoma County: Call (707) 535-3349 or visit rocsonomacounty.org
· Catholic Charities Disaster Case Management: Call (866) 542-5480
· Santa Rosa City Schools’ Integrated Wellness Center: Call (707) 890-3827 or visit srcschools.org/domain/2112
· Sonoma Community Resilience Collaborative: Call (707) 303-3600 or visit srhealth.org/about-us/resilience-collaborative
· Wellness and Advocacy Center Peer-to-Peer Mental Health Support: Call (707) 565-7800 or visit wellnessandadvocacy.org
· Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s Disaster Distress Helpline: English Speakers call 1-800-985-5990. Spanish speakers call 1-800-985-5990 and press “2”. The deaf or hard of hearing can text TalkWithUs to 66746.
Online Updates & Hotlines: The County and local cities are actively monitoring the situation with PG&E and will update the public as information becomes available. For updates, follow local jurisdictions on social media, and visit:
· In Sonoma County: www.SoCoemergency.org
· In City of Santa Rosa: www.srcity.org/emergency
· In City of Sonoma: www.sonomacity.org/emergency-updates
Residents can learn more about PG&E power shutoffs by visiting PG&E’s website or calling PG&E’s 24-hour power outage information center at 1-800-743-5002.
To find information, local services and helpful resources, call Sonoma County 2-1-1 (dial 2-1-1 from a 707 area code phone). In a life-threatening emergency, call 9-1-1.
JURISDICTION SPECIFIC INFORMATION
· Unincorporated Sonoma County:
o TRAFFIC INTERSECTIONS: The County expects the intersection at Mark West Springs Rd. and Ursuline Rd. to be the only traffic signal in unincorporated Sonoma County without power during the current PG&E power shutoff. The County’s Transportation and Public Works officials will operate the signal on a generator with additional power from a battery backup. In case of problems with the generator, the battery backup signal will change to flashing red mode.
PG&E RESOURCES
Power Shutoff Address Lookup Tool
PG&E Power Shutoff Event Webpage
