Power shut off in California as winds, fire danger increase

SAN FRANCISCO » Large swaths of California were without power Monday as utilities sought to prevent the chance of their equipment sparking wildfires while the fire-weary state was buffeted by powerful winds and dangerously dry weather conditions.

More than 1 million people were expected to be in the dark during what officials have said could be the strongest wind event in California this year.

North of San Francisco, a weather station on Mount St. Helena recorded a hurricane-force gust of 89 mph (143 kph) late Sunday and sustained winds of 76 mph (122 kph). By early Monday winds had calmed slightly, while still topping 60 mph (97 kph), the National Weather Service said.

“While this is less than what we saw earlier, these winds are still strong and dry conditions prevail,” the agency said on Twitter.

At lower elevations, gusts reached 50 mph (80 kph) early Monday across the San Francisco Bay Area, where tens of thousands had their electricity turned off. Officials extended a red flag warning through 5 p.m. Tuesday for East and North Bay mountain areas.

It’s the fifth time this year that Pacific Gas & Electric, the nation’s largest utility, has cut power to customers in a bid to reduce the risk that downed or fouled power lines or other equipment could ignite a blaze during bone-dry weather conditions and gusty winds. On Sunday, the utility shut off power to 225,000 customers in Northern California and later did the same for another 136,000 customers in a total of 36 counties.

“This event is by far the largest we’ve experienced this year, the most extreme weather,” said Aaron Johnson, the utility’s vice president of wildfire safety and public engagement. “We’re trying to find ways to make the events less difficult.”

Crews were able to quickly contain small fires that broke out Sunday in Sonoma and Shasta counties. The causes were under investigation.

The National Weather Service issued red f lag warnings for much of the state, predicting winds of up to 35 mph (56 kph) in lower elevations and more than 70 mph (113 kph) in mountainous areas of Southern California. The concern is that any spark could be blown into flames sweeping through tinderdry brush and forestland.

The conditions could equal those during devastating fires in California’s wine country in 2017 and last year’s Kincade Fire, the National Weather Service said. Fire officials said PG&E transmission lines sparked that Sonoma County fire last October, which destroyed hundreds of homes and caused nearly 100,000 people to flee.

Weather c ond it ion s shifted in Northern California on Sunday, with humidity dropping and winds picking up speed, said Scott Strenfel, senior meteorologist for PG&E. He said another round of winds is expected Monday night.

Southern Ca lifor nia , which saw cooler temperatures and patchy drizzle over the weekend, saw extreme fire weather move in late Sunday. Southern California Edison said it was considering safety outages for 71,000 customers in six counties starting Monday, with San Bernardino County potentially the most affected.

Los A ngeles County urged residents to sign up for emergency notifications and prepare to evacuate, preferably arranging to stay with family or friends in less risky areas who aren’t suspected to have the coronavirus. Local fire officials boosted staffing as a precaution.