Vallejo hit with power outages
Thousands of Pacific Gas & Electric Co. customers in Vallejo and Bay Area dealt with power outages on Sunday afternoon and Monday morning due to strong rain.
Rain began falling Sunday night and one to two inches of rain is expected in the Bay Area over the next week, according to the National Weather Service. Another storm on Tuesday afternoon is expected to bring rainfall exceeding Sunday night’s showers.
The majority of the power outages in Vallejo were located in South Vallejo and Mare Island, with up to 5,000 customers being affected in those areas as well as North Crockett. Downtown Vallejo also saw about 50 customers affected.
Multiple isolated power outages occurred across the city due to power lines being down, according to Vallejo firefighter and spokesperson, Kevin Brown. Due to these failures, roughly 2,500 residences were without power for periods ranging from 30 minutes to several hours last night. As of Monday morning, the PG&E outage map still shows several small outages resulting in less than 250 residences without power. PG&E’s currently projected to restore all power by Monday afternoon.
Meanwhile, Brown and the Vallejo Fire Department were busy on Sunday night with seven calls for service related to the outage, including one incident that saw Engine 21 and Truck 21 helping out people trapped in an elevator caught between floors. Other calls included power lines being down and small fires created by power lines.
“Vallejo Fire Department Engine 21 and Truck 21 were able to manually lower the elevator and open the doors. Four persons were released from the elevator with no medical complaints,” Brown told the Times-Herald on Monday. “They were caught in the elevator for less than 30 minutes. No notable damage occurred from these fires (during the night). Vallejo residents are reminded to always stay clear of any downed power lines and to immediately call 9-1-1. Even if power lines appear to be de-energized, they should be treated as active until emergency responders and PG&E are on scene and able to confirm that the lines are safe.”
Despite the heavy workload, Brown said VFD was thankful for rainy weather.
“In regards to the rain/ cooler weather/ relative humidity, it appears that the recent and upcoming weather patterns are having a significant positive effect on Northern California fire weather,” Brown said. “However, Southern California still remains under a high fire danger warning as October wind patterns tend to create larger fires in that portion of our state.”
PG&E outages have been reported as a result of the wet weather and are impacting customers in areas including Oakland, San Mateo, San Jose, Redwood City, San Leandro and San Pablo.
The Bay Area could see more showers Thursday night into Friday morning, with places in the North Bay with higher elevations possibly seeing up to an inch of rain, according to NWS. Friday afternoon is expected to be free from rain conditions before more wet weather could return on Saturday.
Some experts say an inch of rain can typically bring a close to Northern California’s fall fire season — but others warn the storms forecast for the area won’t be enough if drier, warm weather returns next week.
“Even this past rainfall, it definitely gave us a good amount of rain to help suppress any fire concerns. So the fact that we’ve already received a quarter of an inch, that’s helping out already,” National Weather Service meteorologist David King said. “The fact that we’re getting another system is really good to quell much of our fire concerns.”
Cal Fire is taking a more cautious outlook.
“When it’s raining and in the immediate time after that rain, we’re probably not going to have any new fires. But since it’s already so dry under that dust layer, if we have warm weather right after, then we could be right back where we started,” said Angela Bernheisel, division chief for the Cal Fire Santa Cruz-San Mateo Unit.