Many angry phone calls reported by San Jose councilman
The city of San Jose and Santa Clara County declared states of emergency Wednesday, and Morgan Hill announced a curfew, as the embattled utility PG&E said blackouts intended to cut fire risk would start between 8 and 10 p.m. in parts of Santa Clara, San Mateo, Alameda and Contra Costa counties.
Up to 137,000 homes and businesses in the four counties were expected to lose power.
Anger and frustration at PG&E and fears of economic loss rose Wednesday after the bankrupt company cut power to much of Northern California overnight Tuesday amid high fire risk, then on Wednesday delayed a second wave of blackouts planned for additional areas that were initially said to be coming at noon.
San Jose Councilman Johnny Khamis said his office fielded many angry calls Wednesday afternoon. “I’m hearing the words ‘Third-World country’ quite a bit,” said Khamis, whose own house is in the possible shutoff zone. “They got us all panicked. It feels like they’re doing this whole thing not to be sued.”
Just to the south, Morgan Hill announced the most extreme response yet by a community to the planned outages: a curfew in blacked-out areas, effective the moment the lights go out.
“The curfew is intended for pedestrians loitering in areas impacted by the power shutoff,” the city said in an email. “This curfew is for the safety of the community to reduce the opportunity for crime. Travel by vehicle
“I can’t leave the house without medical transport. I need a special bed so I don’t get pressure sores. I need oxygen in case I stop breathing. We are really stuck. For people in our situation, there is no plan.”
— Cancer patient who asked not to be identified
and presence on one’s own residential property is fine. Please note that checking on neighbors is not considered loitering.”
The outages are also set to hit parts of San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties in the same time frame.
Because PG&E must inspect its lines after the fire danger abates, it could take up to five days after the risky conditions end for power to be fully restored, the utility said.
The first wave of PG&E’s blackouts under the utility’s “Public Safety Power Shutoff” program started Tuesday night, hitting more than a half-million homes and businesses in 22 counties after midnight. Early Wednesday morning, traffic began backing up around North Bay communities in the darkness as signal lights went dark. In Santa Rosa, the city fire department tweeted that the outage had caused “multiple” collisions, including five with injuries, at intersections without power.
In East San Jose, in anticipation of the planned shutoff Wednesday, the owners of Antipastos restaurant said they’d called around to rent a refrigeration truck or generator, but were unable to secure equipment to keep their perishables cold. Gino DeRose estimates the deli, which the family has run for 32 years without an extended power outage, could lose thousands of dollars if they have to close, through spoiled meat and fish, and revenues lost from unsold meatball sandwiches, homemade ravioli and soups.
If his family treated customers the way PG&E is treating the restaurant, DeRose said, “We wouldn’t have any customers.”
The planned shutdowns, which are expected to affect at least 2 million people
in total, are part of a controversial program the utility launched this year in response to what it calls the “new normal” of heightened fire risk from extreme weather and dry conditions that scientists have linked to climate change. PG&E was forced into bankruptcy in January by its liability for deaths and damages from lethal Northern California wildfires linked to its equipment in 2015, 2017 and 2018, including the Camp Fire that killed 86 people and destroyed the town of Paradise.
The decision to turn off power starting Tuesday night was based on forecasts of dry, hot and windy weather. PG&E said the dangerous conditions would peak from Wednesday morning through Thursday morning, with gusts reaching 60 to 70 mph at higher elevations.
Santa Clara County officials, saying more than 100,000 people in the county could be affected by shutoffs, on Wednesday afternoon declared a local emergency, and asked the state and federal governments to follow suit.
San Jose officials on Wednesday afternoon also declared a local emergency, and said shutoff areas — in East San Jose along the hills and Almaden Valley in South San Jose — would go dark around 8 p.m.
Vice Mayor Chappie Jones encouraged residents to charge their cellphones, have flashlights, batteries and battery-powered radios, and fill up their gas tanks in advance
“During the PG&E shutoff, don’t drive if you can avoid it,” Jones said. “Be sure to stop at intersections where traffic lights are out. If you live in any affected
area, stay at home as much as possible.”
Residents should avoid using power tools near dry fuels, or having open flames anywhere, and should ensure generators are used only as necessary and have open spaces for exhaust, said San Jose fire Chief Robert Sapien Jr.
San Jose officials said they did not expect drinking water, sewer systems or wastewater treatment services to be affected by the blackout, but urged residents in blackout areas to conserve water and turn off outdoor irrigation. Garbage and recycling in those areas would still be picked up, but maybe later than usual if traffic is bad, said City Manager Dave Sykes.
Alameda County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Ray Kelly warned that although backup power generators would be in operation for stoplights, residents
should be wary of railroad crossings throughout the East Bay, as the crossings’ backup battery-powered generators may not last long.
Dialysis centers across the South Bay, including five locations in the Satellite Healthcare network, were still waiting for updates from the utility on Wednesday afternoon as to when planned shutoffs could take place, said Satellite’s CEO Rick Barnett.
“What’s frustrating is even as of this morning we were getting conflicting information,” Barnett said.
One cancer patient who lives in the Santa Cruz Mountains and asked not to be identified, said it would cost $50,000 to make her home energy independent.
“I can’t leave the house without medical transport,” she said. “I need a special bed so I don’t get pressure sores. I need oxygen in case I stop breathing. We are really stuck. For people in our situation, there is no plan.”
Myhanh Lopes, manager of the McCaulou’s clothing store in Montclair in the Oakland hills, was frustrated with the situation Wednesday. PG&E’s only contact with the store was a robocall around 10 a.m. that morning, she said, and she didn’t know how long the impending blackout would last, or if she would need to send her staff home. Closing the store for what could be days would put a big hit on the store’s profits, she said, especially since this time of year the store is busy selling Boy Scouts uniforms.
“It will impact the whole community, not just retailers,” Lopes said. “It affects our lifestyle, our children, our everyday life.”
Wednesday night, PG&E said that power had been restored to 50,000 customers in the Sierra foothills, and that the utility was trying to quickly bring back online 50,000 more customers in Humboldt County. A third round of outages may affect an additional 42,000 customers in undetermined locations in its southernmost service area.
“The safety of our customers and the communities we serve is our most important responsibility, which is why PG&E has decided to turn power off to customers during this widespread, severe wind event,” Michael Lewis, PG&E’s senior vice president of electric operations, said in a statement. “We understand the effects this event will have on our customers and appreciate the public’s patience as we do what is necessary to keep our communities safe and reduce the risk of wildfire.”