Nearly a dozen counties in Northern California face an elevated risk of power shutoffs this weekend as extreme heat and high winds boost wildfire conditions across the region.
PG&E Corp., which serves more than 5.5 million electric customers in northern and central California, said public safety power shutoffs are possible on Saturday for parts of eight inland counties including El Dorado, Lassen and Placer, according to a website posting. That warning expands to three more counties on Sunday.
The move comes as the National Weather Service has issued a heat advisory for large swaths of the utility’s territory with elevated fire-weather conditions stretching into early next week. Wind gusts are expected to reach up to 35 miles per hour (56 kilometers per hour). The high temperature in Roseville in Placer County — northeast of Sacramento near the Nevada border — is expected to climb to 101F (38C) Thursday before easing to 85F by Sunday. Even with the temperature falling, the converging dry and windy conditions drive up wildfire risks.
“The combination of strong winds and low humidity can cause fire to rapidly grow in size and intensity before first responders can contain them,” the weather service said in an alert Thursday. Fire-weather watches will go into effect Saturday and stretch into Monday in parts of Northern California.
Related: PG&E to Defer $2 Billion of Work After California Shelved Fire Bill
The counties facing shutoffs on Sunday include: Colusa, Glenn, Nevada, Plumas, Shasta, Sierra, Tehama and Yolo.
Weather models show a more than 50% chance of gusty conditions, or winds higher than 25 mph, along the heavily-trafficked Interstate 5 corridor in the Sacramento Valley this weekend, the weather service said in an update Thursday. Dragging chains or tossed cigarettes have been known to spark fires along busy roadways.
Late-summer heat has ravaged much of California this week, and air-conditioning use is sending power demand toward record levels. Power usage in the state topped 50 gigawatts Wednesday, near the all-time high of 52 gigawatts reached in 2022, according to data from California Independent System Operator, which manages the grid.
An extreme heat warning is in effect for areas of Southern California through Thursday, according to the weather service. The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power urged its customers to conserve energy as a blast of tropical humidity from Pacific hurricane remnants drives high electricity usage.
Top photo: Power lines during a heatwave in North Hollywood, California, on Thursday, Sept. 1, 2022. Photographer: Bloomberg/Bloomberg.
Topics California
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