Helpful Info. Historic wind event, PG &L poss cutting power to 850,000

[Silent Earth]

https://www.foxnews.com/us/pge-coul...r-48-hours-over-potential-historic-wind-event

Thats 850,000 HOME or 2.5 million people.

A sign of the times OR is it a sign of things to come as Power companies dodge fire risks every year by turning off the power. if this is a trend then our American cousins on here MUST start to discuss and prep for possible annual power cuts in arid areas.

Amid concerns of a “historic wind event," California’s largest energy provider, Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), prepared Friday to potentially shut off power for an estimated 850,000 households -- or 2.5 million people -- across 36 counties in the state for 48 hours or more this weekend, the company said in a statement.

PG&E said areas in Northern California that could lose power on Saturday include Humboldt, the Sierra foothills, Western Sacramento Valley, the San Francisco Bay Area, Monterey Bay and the northern Central Coast. Customers in the company's southernmost region -- such as Kern County, which includes Bakersfield, could have their power shut off Sunday.

“We understand that a longer shutoff would be very difficult for our customers. We are already working to minimize the length, including amassing a force of field personnel from PG&E, plus contractors and other utility companies, to be ready to tackle the inspection, repair and restoration process as soon as the weather passes,” PG&E Corporation CEO and President Bill Johnson said in a statement.

PG&E has temporarily cut off power to thousands of customers across the state in the last several weeks to mitigate the potential spread of wildfires.

Nearly 180,000 customers lost power earlier this week north of San Francisco.

The company said this weekend could be the most powerful weather event in the state in decades with winds up to 70 mph in the mountains.

https://www.foxnews.com/apps-products?pid=AppArticleLink

“The upcoming wind event has the potential to be one of the strongest in the last several years. It’s also likely to be longer than recent wind events, which have lasted about 12 hours or less,” said Scott Strenfel, principal meteorologist with PG&E.

High winds pose a fire risk because it could damage or cause the electrical system to spark, potentially causing a fire helped by dry brush.

The company said they are monitoring the weather and will send notifications if they plan to go forward with the shutoff.

 

[bigpaul]

48 hours dosent seem a lot, perfectly doable even for a sheeple as they have been forewarned.
whether they take notice and do anything about it is another matter!!!

 

[Silent Earth]

https://www.foxnews.com/us/california-wildfire-possible-source

Kincade fire probably started by downed power cable , more lawsuits likely I guess.

 

[Silent Earth]

California wildfires: Millions warned of possible power cut

• California wildfires

Jets drop fire retardant on California blaze
Media captionJets drop fire retardant on a California blaze
Millions of Californians face having their power cut as firefighters continue to battle a surge in wildfires in the state.

Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) said it might have to turn off power in 36 counties amid forecasts of a "historic wind event", which it said could damage facilities and cause new fires.

The warning came as wildfires forced some 50,000 people from their homes.

A state of emergency has been declared in Los Angeles and Sonoma counties.

California's fire department says the state is experiencing "critical fire weather".

Commenting on the latest fire, Governor Gavin Newsom said on Friday that PG&E "simply did not do their job". He condemned "years and years of greed, years and years of mismanagement in the utilities".

What is PG&E telling Californians?
PG&E on Friday warned about 850,000 customers - whose households are estimated to contain about 2 million people - that they "may be impacted" by a power cut between Saturday evening and midday on Monday, citing forecasts of potential extreme weather.

"PG&E will need to turn off power for safety several hours before the potentially damaging winds arrive," the company said in a statement.

"The weather event could be the most powerful in California in decades."

The company said high winds "pose a higher risk of damage and sparks on the electric system and rapid wildfire spread", adding that vegetation was especially vulnerable to fire because it had been dried out by previous winds.

The warning from PG&E came as the company faced scrutiny over its possible role in the fires.

The company says the Kincade Fire that started in northern California on Wednesday began seven minutes after a nearby power line was damaged.

It has not yet confirmed whether the power glitch sparked the Kincade Fire.

The deadliest wildfire in the state's history - which killed 85 people in northern California in 2018 - was caused by PG&E power lines.

'Seconds to get out'
BBC correspondent Peter Bowes lives in the Santa Clarita area north of Los Angeles, where the Tick Fire has been raging.

"My partner was in the house and had just seconds to get out, to pick up the dog, throw the dog in the car - gently - just get out. It happened that quickly and all our neighbours did exactly the same thing," he said.

Where are the major fires?
The Kincade Fire, which started on Wednesday, has burned through 21,900 acres (8,800 hectares) of land in Sonoma County - one of California's best-known wine regions.

More than 1,300 firefighters are tackling the blaze, which remains uncontained.

• The Tick Fire in Los Angeles County has burned at least 4,300 acres in the Santa Clarita region
• The Old Water Fire in San Bernardino County has burned 95 acres, shutting off a major highway
• The Cabrillo Fire in San Mateo County, south of the town of Pescadero, has burnt about 95 acres
• The Sawday Fire in San Diego County, which began on Friday, has burned 97 acres, some 40 miles northeast of San Diego
• The Saddle Ridge Fire in Los Angeles County has burned more than 8,700 acres over the last 14 days
• The Muir Fire in Marin County has burned 143 acres
• The Mines Fire in Alameda County has burned some 86 acres since Thursday night
• The Miller Fire in San Diego County has burned about 91 acres since Friday afternoon

Fires have also broken out across the border in Mexico's Baja California state, with blazes near the border town of Tecate, south-west of Tijuana, and north-west of the city of Ensenada on the Pacific coast.

Authorities said three people had died and more than 1,000 had been evacuated from their homes.

What's caused the wildfires?
According to a report filed to the California Public Utilities Commission on Thursday, a "broken jumper" - which connects power lines to towers - was discovered at 21:20 local time on Wednesday.

The fire began at 21:27, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

The news sent share prices of PG&E tumbling on Friday, as investors feared the company might be held responsible for the Kincade Fire.

The company is already seeking bankruptcy protection as it faces lawsuits over last year's deadly Camp Fire. It was found to have been sparked by ageing equipment owned by PG&E.

It spawned billions of dollars in liability claims against the company.

High winds appear to have spread the fires - gusts of up to 70mph (112km/h) have swept much of the state.

California is affected by Santa Ana winds, which are known for being dry and gusty, exacerbating wildfires.

Who is affected?
On Thursday morning, PG&E shut off power in 15 California counties to prevent accidental fires, affecting about 180,000 homes.

Power was restored to most customers on Thursday night. But officials warn of more outages over the weekend in regions experiencing high winds and dry heat.

Schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District remained closed on Friday because of air quality and safety concerns.

 

[DrHenley]

The wacko greenies haven't allowed controlled burns for years and all the money that should have been spent maintaining their system went instead into buying politicians and "green energy" propaganda. In lib logic, that should mean they did everything right!

What could possibly go wrong???

 

[bigpaul]

same as what happened on the Somerset Levels in the UK, they didn't let anyone dredge the channels, something about shellfish or something, and what happened? the Levels flooded and people had their houses ruined that's what.

 

[Maverick]

Being under the threat of forest fires every year I don't wish this on anyone but Doc is right, stopping the controlled burns have magnified the damage and destruction we see today, Cali's priorities are haywire or non-existent!