Pacific Gas & Electric Co., California's largest electric utility, warned Friday afternoon it might cut power as early as this weekend to portions of its service area due to extreme fire risk.
It follows the California Public Utilities Commission last week approving expanded blackouts in high fire-risk areas to reduce wildfire danger. Proactively shutting down power is part of wildfire mitigation plans filed recently by several major utilities.
The state is bracing for perhaps another severe wildfire season after devastating 2017 and 2018 blazes that killed more than 120 people. California has a history of power lines sometimes sparking wildfires, including during high wind conditions when trees and their branches can knock down lines. According to PG&E's website, the company's wildfire mitigation plan includes a so-called public safety power shutoff option that could "last several hours or days."
Cal Fire blamed the San Francisco-based electric utility's equipment for at least 17 wildfires in the state's wine country in October 2017, including two blazes that resulted in a total of 13 fatalities. "The challenge with undergrounding is both expense but also the time," said Toney. "It would literally take decades to underground major portions of the transmission and distribution lines. And we don't have decades to wait when it comes to preventing fires."
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