PG&E Warns of More California Blackouts to Prevent Fires
(Bloomberg) -- PG&E Corp. is warning it may need to cut power to parts of Northern California this weekend to prevent its equipment from sparking blazes during windy conditions.
The utility may need to cut electricity to 21,000 customers in parts of Butte, Plumas and Yuba counties in the Sierra Nevada foothills as dry winds are forecast to pick up on Saturday evening, it said in a statement late Thursday night. On Friday, the company said the outages could also include parts of the San Francisco Bay Area.
The fire risk is forecast to last through Monday morning, and the National Weather Service warns gusts could reach 55 miles (88 kilometers) per hour in some areas. PG&E will restore power as soon as it can confirm lines weren’t damaged.
More than 8,000 wildfires have already ripped through California this year, burning a record 3.6 million acres. The state’s peak wildfire season traditionally runs from September through November. But it’s been growing increasingly longer in recent years, with blazes coming as late as December.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topstories/pgande-warns-of-more-california-blackouts-to-prevent-fires/ar-BB19olWG?li=BBnb7Kz
