USA TODAY International Edition
Again? Outages may put 500K Californians in the dark
California’s largest utility says it could shut off power to 500,000 people this week for two days or longer as wildfires again threaten to bring havoc to northern parts of the state.
The warning addressed residents in 15 counties, mostly in the Sierra foothills and the San Francisco Bay area. It came less than two weeks after gusty winds, high temperatures and parched conditions forced Pacific Gas & Electric to shut off power to 2 million people, many for several days.
That preemptive outage, or Public Safety Power Shutoff, fueled outrage from many residents and political leaders. Gov. Gavin Newsom accused the energy giant of “greed” and mismanagement.”
PG& E, however, defends the outages as crucial to the safety of its customers.
The company has given preliminary notification to more than 200,000 homes and businesses impacting several hundred thousand residents.
The utility said authorities have determined more than half of PG& E’s 70,000- square- mile service area in Northern and Central California have a high fire threat, given dry grasses and the high volume of dead and dying trees. The state’s high- risk areas have tripled in size in seven years, the statement said.
“The sole purpose of PSPS is to significantly reduce catastrophic wildfire risk to our customers and communities,” said Michael Lewis, senior vice president for operations.
Firefighters have been conducting fierce battles in recent days to protect homes.