Posted on 10/09/2019 10:53:40 AM PDT by Oldeconomybuyer
Pacific Gas & Electric, California’s biggest utility company, shut off electricity to more than 1 million people on Wednesday in an effort to prevent wildfires caused by downed power lines.
The utility said it cut power to more than 500,000 customers in Northern California and that it plans to gradually turn off electricity to nearly 800,000 customers to prevent its equipment from starting wildfires during hot, windy weather. A second group of about 234,000 customers will lose power starting at noon, the utility said. The power outages are expected to affect about 2.5 million people.
The utility plans to shut off power in parts of 34 northern, central and coastal California counties to reduce the chance of fierce winds knocking down or toppling trees into power lines during a siege of hot, dry, gusty weather.
Gusts of 35 mph to 45 mph were forecast to sweep a vast swath of the state, from the San Francisco Bay area to the agricultural Central Valley and especially in the Sierra Nevada foothills, where a November wildfire blamed on PG&E transmission lines killed 85 people and virtually incinerated the town of Paradise.
"This is a last resort," said Sumeet Singh, head of the utility's Community Wildfire Safety Program.
However, people should be outraged by the move, Gov. Gavin Newsom said. "No one is satisfied with this, no one is happy with this," he said.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxbusiness.com ...
Unfortunately, Much of the Google and Facebook offices here are in a safe zone that rings the Bay. It isn’t until you get to the foothills that the ‘lights out’ boundary lines run.
I can see Google from my porch,, well, a big sign on one of their buildings nearby anyway. It’s business as usual for many, they may live where the lights are out but their office lights are on..
The state is spending to much money on illegals benefits to clear lands to prevent fires!!! I don’t think it is PGE responsibility to clear lands!!!!
I'm not someone in the know but I do recall reports that the big fire earlier this year in northern California could have been avoided if PG&E had been allowed to do a proper clearing around their power lines.
And I'm also pretty sure that they are paying heavy fines for the fire. So this looks like a business decision to me. Lose some customers but avoid those big fines.
Hopefully someone will respond who has better knowledge.
I am here in Fresno working at the fair...WIfe in Butte County where our power wernt off at 12:37 this morning. Talked to her via her rotary phone. Will start the generator later this afternoon. This is the fourth power down for our neck of the woods. For the folks in the Bay Area, it is a real shocker. Many do not even know that the power will be going out around noon....
Reading Twitter...folks wondering if they will still be able to charge up their Tesla...
Well, if one lives in a city proper, probably...in the hills surrounding the Bay Area or connected to lines that go through those areas...then no.
Us rural folks regard it as a real pain in the keister...but through the hum of generators in the background...we will get through it. For the more suburban and urban folks...maybe a different story. We face this through Thanksgiving, or until decent rains come...
Who do I blame. It goes around and around. But, quite frankly, what is PG and E supposed to do?
Instead of pointing fingers though...because it does no good...(we all know who is responsible) I would like to see concrete solutions and a timetable for putting those solutions into action.
Just want to get through this without a wildfire. WIfe has instructions and is loaded up just in case...
IT sure was a pretty sunset last night here, calm also.. later today and tonight is when more lively winds will likely blow thru.
Entire counties are not being shutdown unless they are full of more dense growth. San Francisco, which is both a county and a city in one, will have no interruptions. Hmmm.
We are in So Cal. I think this is a hoot. The libs blamed PG&E for all the fires, for sparks causing the fires. Nevermind that people have to clear their brush, that the logging companies were forbidden from picking up dead and fallen timber (we want the Garden of Eden here), etc. PG&E took the entire blame.
This is a perfectly appropriate answer I believe. Too bad it will affect Google and FB and hopefully Sacramento./ not.
My understanding is that after the Wine Country fires people sued the power companies for fires that supposedly started from uncleared power lines hitting tree limbs. The Power companies lost enough that they said fine — we will shut off power since you won’t let us clear lines in our utility easements due to Green Whackos and Property Owners.
The state won’t allow a rate increase for burial of lines like we do elsewhere so you pay for lawsuits and power loss.
Keep voting Democratic. Embrace the suck.
Trump should be getting on this ASAP he is no treehugger if it is federal land he should CLEAR IT!!!_
Trump should be getting on this ASAP he is no treehugger if it is federal land he should CLEAR IT!!!_
Deporting just 1 million of their illegals would eliminate the housing shortage, eliminate the electricity shortage and related fire risk, and perhaps even allow them to keep the streets and sidewalks cleaner (Californians clean up after their dogs, but leave the similar mess that their homeless make).
Sacramento is not on the list... very interesting.
No to serve and support the illegal invaders
And this is how California’s crap starts to indirectly affect the whole country. It just a beginning, every one of their mistakes are going to indirectly affect this whole country. already has in many ways.
[[This is embarrassing as a state. ]]
This is gonna happen all over the US as democrats do this to force people to think “My goodness, global warming must be so bad that we now have to sacrifice in order to prevent forest fires”
The left will say “We had to do this because our inaction has made things so bad, that we’re now under threat of devastating forest fires because republicans refuse to take global warming seriously”
That was my understanding as well, but I can't verify it. Do you have a link?
Don’t hoot yet, you are next. Even if you don’t have trees to worry about, they are going to do it just to do it. Got to spread the wealth AND the misery you know...
I live in the Bay Area - there’s hardly a breeze here and the current temperature is 66 degrees with a predicted high of 79.
We’re being gaslighted.
That’ll teach ‘em.
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