Large swaths of California have no electricity Monday as utilities try to prevent the chance of their equipment sparking wildfires. The fire-weary state is being buffeted by powerful winds and dangerously dry weather conditions.
A roadside sign warns motorists of extreme fire danger on Grizzly Peak Boulevard, in Oakland, Calif., Sunday, Oct. 25, 2020. Due to high winds and dry conditions PG&E will turn off the power to over 361,000 customers in 36 counties to protect them from possible wildfires caused by downed power lines. The National Weather Service predicts offshore winds from the north peaking at higher elevations up to 70 mph.
“While this is less than what we saw earlier, these winds are still strong and dry conditions prevail,” the agency said on Twitter. The electricity shutdowns marked the fifth time this year that Pacific Gas & Electric, the nation’s largest utility, has cut power to customers to reduce the risk of downed or fouled power lines or other equipment could ignite blazes during bone-dry weather conditions and gusty winds.
The conditions could equal those during devastating fires in California’s wine country in 2017 and last year’s Kincade Fire that devastated Sonoma County north of San Francisco last October, the National Weather Service said. Fire officials said PG&E transmission lines sparked that fire, which destroyed hundreds of homes and caused nearly 100,000 people to flee.
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