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As PG&E Restores Power, Another Shutoff Is On The Way

@PGE4Me on Twitter
As PG&E works to restore power from the shutoff on Oct. 26, the company may initiage another outage that could potentially affect 32 counties, including Santa Cruz County.

10/28/2019 5:15PM: PG&E announced Monday evening that they will be moving forward with another Public Safety Power Shutoff on Tuesday. This round will likely impact portions of 29 counties, including parts of Santa Cruz County. Monterey County will not be affected.

 

The National Weather Service issued a Red Flag Warning for the Santa Cruz Mountains and Scotts Valley from 1 p.m. Tuesday to 4 p.m. Wednesday. This warning means strong winds, low humidity and warm temperatures are in the forecast. When combined, they create critical fire weather conditions.

 

In a press release Monday evening, PG&E said they're turning off the power again as a precautionary measure to reduce wildfire risk during this upcoming wind event. About 650,000 PG&E customers will likely be impacted.

 

Meanwhile, PG&E crews worked Monday to restore power from the Public Safety Power Shutoff on October 26. As of 5pm Monday, about 325,000 customers out of the roughly 970,000 impacted have their power back.

 

10/28/2019 11:30AM: PG&E has begun the re-energization process for Santa Cruz County, Monterey County and San Benito County.

Power restoration could take up to 48 hours. Some customers will see their power come back on sooner than others.

PG&E crews must visually inspect the lines by foot and helicopter before they can re-energize the lines safely. They may also have to make repairs if infrastructure was damaged from the wind. Over 6,000 field personnel are working to restore power in 38 counties across Northern and Central California. 

Another power shutoff could affect parts of Santa Cruz County beginning Tuesday. PG&E is tracking a new wind event that may impact the Santa Cruz mountains.

 

 

If the company decides to initiate another Public Safety Power Shutoff, this would be the third consecutive one in the last three weeks. 

 

 

For those who get power back ahead of the next potential shutoff, PG&E recommends using the time to prepare. Click here for tips.

 

The Monterey County Office of Emergency Services says Monterey County will not be affected by Tuesday's planned shutoff. 

 
This is a developing story.

Erika joined KAZU in 2016. Her roots in radio began at an early age working for the independent community radio station in her hometown of Boulder, Colorado. After graduating from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University in 2012, Erika spent four years working as a television reporter. She’s very happy to be back in public radio and loves living in the Monterey Bay Area.
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