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The Bay Area experiences power outages as winds increase and humidity drops

Madoc Meredith October 18, 2024

OAKLAND — PG&E’s planned power shutoffs triggered by a strong wind storm in the Bay Area continued Friday morning.

The utility began shutting off power in parts of the Bay Area Thursday evening as strong winds and low humidity hit the region.

According to the utility, power lines in Napa, Solano and Sonoma counties were without power as of 7 p.m.

Alameda, Colusa, Contra Costa, Glenn, Lake, Mendocino, Santa Clara, Shasta, Tehama and Yolo counties were also expected to have public safety shutoffs Thursday.

Additional closures are required Friday and Saturday for Alameda, Butte, Colusa, Contra Costa, Fresno, Glenn, Lake, Madera, Mariposa, Mendocino, Merced, Monterey, Napa, Plumas, San Benito, Santa Barbara and Santa Clara, Santa counties Cruz, Shasta, Solano, Stanislaus, Tehama and Yolo, depending on the utility company.

PG&E said a total of about 8,000 customers in the Bay Area were expected to be closed.

The planned outages are intended to prevent wildfires as a weather system brings strong winds and low humidity to the region.

As of Friday morning, the National Weather Service said there had been no changes to the weather pattern and that winds were likely to continue to blow consistently between 25 and 35 miles per hour, with gusts up to 60 miles per hour.

A red flag warning is in effect across much of the Bay Area and Central Coast from 11 p.m. Thursday through 5 p.m. Saturday. A wind advisory for the inland areas of the East Bay, the eastern hills of Santa Clara and the inland mountains of the North Bay also went into effect and is in effect until 8 a.m. Saturday.

Temperatures aren’t expected to exceed the mid-80s, but as NWS meteorologist Matt Mehle noted, “You don’t have to have the high temperatures to be worried about a fire.”

“We had fires in December,” Mehle said in an interview Thursday. “We had them in January. We had them when temperatures were in the 40s, 50s and 60s.”

Check back for updates.

Originally published: October 17, 2024 at 10:37 p.m

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The Bay Area experiences power outages as winds increase and humidity drops

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