Millions play waiting game amid California power shut-offs

SONOMA: Millions of Californians played a waiting game with the winds as Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) watched the weather before deciding to restore power to a huge part of the state blacked out on purpose.

The state’s largest utility pulled the plug to prevent a repeat of the past two years when wind-blown power lines sparked deadly wildfires that destroyed thousands of homes.

The unpopular move, which disrupted daily life, came after catastrophic fires sent PG&E into bankruptcy and forced it to take more aggressive steps to prevent blazes.

The blackouts began on Wednesday, affecting over 500,000 homes and businesses north of San Francisco Bay, the Central Valley and the Sierra Nevada foothills, where a November wildfire blamed on PG&E lines killed 85 people and incinerated the town of Paradise.

Overall, about 734,000 customers and as many as two million people could be affected.

PG&E warned that they might have to do without power for days after the winds subsided as the power system had to be inspected by helicopters and ground workers.

“It’s just kind of scary. It feels worse than Y2K. We don’t know how long this will last,” Tianna Pasche of Oakland said.

“My kids, their school situation keeps moving every second. It’s not clear if we need to pack for a week and go out of town, so I’m just trying to make sure we have water, food, charging stations and gas.”

“For me, this is a major inconvenience in my life as a parent but also, if it saves a life, I’m not going to complain about it,” she said.

Residents of the Oakland Hills, where a wildfire in 1991 killed 25 people, spent the morning buying bottled water, getting cash and filling their cars with gas. — AP

It’s just kind of scary. It feels worse than Y2K. We don’t know how long this will last.

Tianna Pasche