Red Flag Warning, PG&E Elevates Shutoff Potential to North Bay Customers

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The National Weather Service has issued a Red Flag Warning for much of Northern California including the mountainous portions of Lake, Mendocino, Sonoma and Napa counties from Monday night through early Wednesday morning.

At the same time, PG&E announced an elevated “watch” for possible power safety shutoffs for 9 counties in northern and central California for late Monday and Tuesday, and a “warning” for the northern Sierra, including 21 thousand customers in Butte, Nevada and Yuba counties where power is projected to be shutoff on Monday evening.

Monday afternoon, PG&E announced there were no plans to shut power off on Monday, to customers in the North Bay counties of Sonoma, Napa or Lake. However, shutoffs were still possible Tuesday.

PG&E is saying that if put into effect, the power shutoffs could affect more than 30 thousand Sonoma County utility customers, and more than 20 thousand in Lake and Napa counties. Here is the list issued by PG&E.

The potential Public Safety Power Shutoff could affect about 124,000 customers in the following communities:

Butte county: 22,920 (including 1,775 medical baseline customers)
EL Dorado county: 3,640 (including 184 medical baseline customers)
Lake county: 12,840 (including 796 medical baseline customers)
Napa county: 10,500 (including 228 medical baseline customers)
Nevada county: 12,950 (including 642 medical baseline customers)
Placer county: 22,180 (including 932 medical baseline customers)
Sonoma county: 33,500 (including 1,043 medical baseline customers)
Sutter county: 230 (including 4 medical baseline customers)
Yuba county: 5,240 (including 333 medical baseline customers)

Sonoma County as well as cities in the North Bay have moved firefighting crews and equipment into areas affected, in order to respond to any fires that may develop as quickly as possible. Cal Fire is also on alert with firefighting crews and aircraft on standby.

This is all being caused by a low pressure system sliding south to the east of our area, which is creating a wind shift, and allowing high pressure and offshore winds to create critical fire conditions beginning late on Monday.

Winds could gust to 35 miles per hour in the hills, with temperatures in the 90s to low 100s.

With hot, downslope offshore winds, temperatures will soar on Tuesday and Wednesday to 100 degrees in many inland locations, and 80s at the coast.

By late Wednesday onshore flow should return, and by Thursday a big cool down will begin, with a 30 degree temperature drop by late in the weekend, and even the return of showers to Northern California and possibly event the North Bay.