PG&E Begins Restoring Power a Day Early, With 2,592 Napa Customers Still Out Friday Evening
Restoration started Friday afternoon, ahead of the original Saturday estimate, as the red flag warning expired and crews began inspecting lines.
NAPA: PG&E began restoring power to Bay Area customers on Friday, Oct. 16, as improving weather lowered the fire risk, a day ahead of the utility’s original Saturday afternoon restoration estimate, according to CBS News reporting carried by KION. As of 5 p.m. Friday, 2,592 customers in Napa County were still without power, a PG&E spokesperson told the station.
Across the Bay Area, 5,857 customers remained out at 5 p.m. Friday: 2,130 in Alameda County, 43 in Contra Costa County, 2,592 in Napa County and 1,092 in Sonoma County, the spokesperson said. Solano County’s roughly three dozen outages had all been restored by then.
From 11,000 Bay Area outages to restoration
Public safety power outages in Alameda, Contra Costa, Napa, Solano and Sonoma counties topped 11,000 on Thursday, and outages totaled nearly 90,000 across the state beginning on Wednesday, KION reported. In its plan for the event, PG&E had estimated about 88,000 customers in 29 counties could be shut off, including 3,027 in Napa County, among them 138 Medical Baseline customers, according to the utility’s release.
As of 5 p.m. Friday, 2,592 customers in Napa County were still without power.
The restoration timetable moved up through Friday. KTVU reported that crews planned to begin line and equipment inspections at noon Friday, with East Bay service potentially back by 4 p.m., and the San Francisco Focal reported North Bay customers could have power back around 7 p.m. Friday, against a previous estimate of about 2 p.m. Saturday. The Focal described the event as PG&E’s largest Public Safety Power Shutoff since 2020.
When we see these conditions are really primed for wildfire, we shut off the power so that we can prevent a wildfire even from starting. It is something we try and avoidTamar Sarkissian, PG&E spokesperson, to KTVU
Warning expires, heat lingers
A red flag warning from the National Weather Service expired earlier Friday, although moderate to hot conditions were expected to linger into Saturday, KION reported. Forecasters said the strong offshore winds were subsiding and the marine layer would return, with a general cooling trend next week.
The shutoffs drew frustration from some residents who questioned why power was cut when conditions near their homes seemed mild. Utility representatives explained that local equipment is often connected to infrastructure miles away in areas facing severe gusts or elevated fire threat, KTVU reported. Community Resource Centers were set up across the region for affected residents, particularly seniors and people with medical or physical needs, and residents could dial 2-1-1 for center locations and assistance, according to KTVU.
This was the same shutoff event the Napa Tribune covered on Oct. 14, when PG&E warned the 3,027 Napa County customers in advance of the Diablo wind event. Friday’s restoration counts mark the first step down from the Thursday peak; the utility’s county figures are estimates from its outage reporting, and customers can check an address on PG&E’s PSPS updates page.
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