PG&E To Shut Off Power In Contra Costa County This Weekend
CONTRA COSTA COUNTY (CBS SF) -- About 48,000 PG&E customers -- meaning more than 120,000 people in all -- will lose power in Contra Costa County starting Saturday night as part of the latest Public Safety Power Shutoff by the utility as it continues to be under fire for causing wildfires in the areas it serves.
The Alameda County Sheriff's office is also preparing for PSPS event that may affect 57,000 customers starting early Saturday evening and going through Monday afternoon.
The shutoff is expected to start at about 10 p.m. Saturday and last through sometime Monday afternoon for a broad swath of the county, from parts of Richmond and El Cerrito west of the hills to Concord and Walnut Creek on the east.
The county has provided a map of the areas that PG&E says will lose power here: Impacted Area Map.
PG&E also has an address lookup tool that customers can use to see if the utility plans to shut off power at psps.ss.pge.com.
The county says PG&E may take several days to complete restorations after power is cut off on Saturday night.
More information from the county on the impacted areas, as well as tips to prepare before, during and after a power outage, can be found at contracosta.ca.gov.
As for PG&E, its equipment failed in the general area where the Kincade Fire broke out a day earlier near Kincade Road and Burned Mountain Road northeast of Geyserville in Sonoma County, according to Cal Fire and a PG&E report filed with the CPUC.
That fire has burned 16,000 acres and was 5 percent contained as of 7:12 p.m. Thursday, and occurred during a Public Safety Power Shutoff that went into effect earlier this week affecting parts of Sonoma, Napa and San Mateo counties.
Earlier Thursday, an angry California Gov. Gavin Newsom lashed out at Pacific Gas & Electric officials, calling the utility's policy of shutting off power as a wildfire prevention plan -- "dog-eats-dog capitalism meeting climate change."
The shutoffs are part of PG&E's efforts to avoid causing wildfires similar to ones that have caused death and destruction in recent years when its equipment fails and catches vegetation on fire during dry and windy weather.
Forecasts for the North and East Bay for Saturday night through Monday morning include gusts of 45-55 mph in the mountains and 75 mph at their highest peaks, and 15-30 mph with gusts of 45 mph in the valleys, according to the National Weather Service.
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