PG&E says it will not shut off power in NorCal

PG&E announced Thursday that it would not be preemptively shutting off power to Northern California residents in response to high fire-risk conditions, a shift after two days of announcements warning customers of the potential for power loss.

PG&E began notifying 70,000 customers Tuesday that it might shut off power in parts of eight Northern California counties where fast-moving, gusty winds increased the likelihood of wildfires after a Red Flag Warning was issued for the area, according to a news release issued by the San Francisco-based utility.

“We want to thank our customers for their understanding and for their actions in preparation of a possible public safety power shutoff. We know how much our customers rely on electric service, and we will only consider temporarily turning off power in the interest of safety and as a last resort during extreme weather conditions to reduce the risk of wildfire,” PG&E senior vice president of Electric Operations Pat Hogan said in the release.

Power has been lost in areas of Butte County after a massive, rapidly growing wildfire started earlier in the day. As of 1 p.m., 34,000 households in Butte County were without power, some due to shutoffs requested by fire personnel, but most was caused by fire damage, PG&E spokeswoman Lynsey Paulo said.