PG&E shutoff may affect 15,700 customers in Calaveras beginning Sunday

Due to a forecast calling for the highest winds and driest conditions of the season so far, Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (PG&E) has announced a possible Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) beginning Sunday for portions of 38 counties and 466,000 customers across Northern and Central California.

“Extremely dry, windy conditions with high gusts pose an increased risk for damage to the electric system that has the potential to ignite fires in areas with critically dry vegetation,” a PG&E press release issued Oct. 23 reads. “High fire-risk conditions are expected to arrive Sunday morning. High winds are currently expected to subside Tuesday morning (Oct. 27).”

The National Weather Service has issued a Red Flag Warning for most of Northern California, including all of Calaveras County, from 11 a.m. on Sunday to 5 p.m. on Tuesday.

The highest probability areas for the shutoff include “terrain of the northern and western Sacramento Valley, Northern and Central Sierra as well as higher terrain of the Bay Area, including the Santa Cruz Mountains, Central Coast Region and portions of southern Kern.”

red flag warningCourtesy image

In Calaveras County, about 15,700 customers may be affected, including 729 medical baseline customers. The estimated shutoff start time for the county is 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday, and the estimated restoration time is 10 p.m. on Tuesday.

If PG&E moves ahead with the shutoff, Community Resource Centers will be set up at Utica Park at 1075 Utica Lane in Angels Camp, and at the Murphys Fire Department at 58 Jones Street in Murphys.

More information will be provided when it becomes available.

To view the possible outage map, click here.

To see if your address may be affected, click here.

To learn more about Community Resource Centers, click here.