PG&E Shutoffs Stayed Small Saturday, but Napa and Solano Join the List for Sunday

PG&E's weekend Public Safety Power Shutoffs, in which the utility cuts power ahead of dangerous fire weather, stayed small through Saturday. The utility says the risk isn't over, though, and more North Bay counties are on its list for Sunday.

Where things stood Saturday

As of 3 p.m. Saturday, PG&E's website showed only handfuls of customers without power from intentional shutoffs, in parts of Fresno, Kern, Alameda, Merced and San Benito counties, The Press Democrat reported. That's far below the roughly 12,200 customers in parts of 17 Northern and Central California counties the utility had warned on Thursday could be affected between Friday and Monday.

Sunday and Monday

According to PG&E's website as cited by The Press Democrat, shutoffs were expected to be needed again Sunday in the same counties as Saturday, which include Alameda and San Joaquin, plus Colusa, Glenn, Lake, Napa, Solano and Yolo counties. For Monday, the utility was planning for possible shutoffs in Colusa, Glenn, Napa, Shasta, Solano and Tehama counties. Parts of Butte County were under a watch for both days, with shutoffs described as likely.

Sonoma County is also on alert. Patch reported that PG&E warned customers there around 1:30 p.m. Saturday that a shutoff was possible as wildfire risk shifts around Santa Rosa, and that severe weather could also cause unplanned outages. The forecast cited in that warning called for low humidity and gusts of 30 to 45 mph, up to 55 mph in parts of the northern Sierra, with elevated fire risk possibly lasting through Monday.

What to do

PG&E calls shutoffs a last resort and urges customers to look up their own address on its outage and PSPS pages, since decisions are made neighborhood by neighborhood and can change with the forecast. If power is cut, the utility says it will open Community Resource Centers with device charging, Wi-Fi, water, snacks, blankets, accessible restrooms and support for medical devices. Service animals are welcome.

It's a good weekend to charge phones and backup batteries, keep a flashlight handy, and check on neighbors who rely on powered medical equipment. Bay Area Brief will update this story if shutoffs expand.