Early Warnings of Fire Danger, High Winds, Power Shutoffs Starting Late Sunday

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Even as the actual event remains two days away, the National Weather Service and PG&E are warning of high fire danger and possible power disruptions as the arrival of the strongest offshore wind event of the season draws closer.

The NWS office in Monterey is comparing the upcoming wind event to those experienced by the North Bay in 2017, and 2019. Those winds set off the October Firestorm of 2017 and the Kincade Fire last fall. However this wind event will likely be more widespread, bringing high winds and ramping up fire danger across much of the Bay Area and Sierra.

This is the European model forecast for the wind event late Sunday and early Monday showing sustained winds at 35-40 mph over a wide area with higher gusts. The strongest winds for this period are centered over the Bay Area including the North Bay.

In response, the California OES and Cal Fire as well as local and regional fire agencies are on high alert for the period and are pre-positioning resources to be ready should any fire starts occur.

On Friday, the NWS issued a Fire Weather Watch beginning Sunday at 11AM and continuing through Tuesday at 11AM. In addition a High Wind Watch was also issued for late on Sunday through Monday morning. Both Watches cover the North Bay and most of the Bay Area and will very likely be upgraded to Warnings in the near future.

Meanwhile, PG&E has issued a PSPS Watch for Sunday through Tuesday period for zones throughout Northern and Central California including the North Bay and Bay Area. They promised more information on the extent of potential outages by late on Friday.