PG&E and city officials confirmed the utility implemented Public Safety Power Shutoffs in parts of south/west Pleasanton late Wednesday night (Oct. 9) that will run through about noon Thursday (Oct. 10). The company has said restoration of power could take multiple days as well.
The affected areas in Pleasanton are described as Foothill Road (south of Bernal Avenue to Sunol area), Happy Valley, Sycamore and Callippe Preserve Golf Course areas, parts of Ruby Hill and possibly the Vineyard Avenue corridor area, according to PG&E.
Those areas were originally identified for shutoff around 1 p.m. Wednesday, but PG&E initially announced a delay until 8 p.m. due to changing weather conditions. It appears that wave of shutoffs in the East Bay began around 11 p.m. Wednesday.
The power outages are expected to affect more than 450,000 customers in all of the Bay Area counties except San Francisco. Shutoffs, which are being implemented in phases, began during the early-morning hours Wednesday in some communities and could extend to Thursday afternoon, with another one to five days to restore power depending on the location and workload.
Some communities that could be affected by the power shutoffs include portions of Pleasanton, Livermore, San Ramon, Danville and Sunol. On its website, the utility company called the move, “a precautionary measure to reduce wildfire risk during the forecasted severe wind event.”
A Red Flag Warning has been put in effect by the National Weather Service for parts of the North Bay and the East Bay hills and valleys from Wednesday at 5 a.m. to Thursday 5 p.m.
The NWS reported Tuesday afternoon that “strong, gusty and dry northerly winds” are expected to develop across the greater San Francisco Bay Area by late Tuesday night and continue through Thursday. Sustained winds of 20 to 30 mph, with gusts of 45 to 55 mph are expected in those areas during the height of the event on Wednesday night. The agency also warned that locally higher wind gusts are possible.
The strongest winds are forecast in the hills but “gusty” winds in the valleys and near the coast “will result in critical fire weather conditions from Wednesday into Thursday, especially across the North Bay, East Bay, and Santa Cruz Mountains,” according to the NWS.
Winds are not expected to be as strong in the valleys, so wind advisories are not expected for those places. However, the NWS added that “winds in all the aforementioned areas will be strong enough to generate critical fire weather conditions when combined with the expected very low humidities and dry fuels.”
Cindy Chin, spokeswoman for the city of Pleasanton, confirmed Tuesday that three areas within the city limits were on the list to be affected: Foothill Road (south of Bernal Avenue to the Sunol Boulevard area); the Happy Valley, Sycamore and Callippe Preserve Golf Course area; and parts of Ruby Hill and possibly the Vineyard Corridor Area. Residents who need to charge their phones may do so for free at the Pleasanton Public Library, which Chin said is not anticipated to lose power.
Pleasanton Unified School District spokesman Patrick Gannon told the Weekly, “PUSD schools are not anticipated to be affected by planned power outages. As such, all schools plan to be open tomorrow.”
But in the event that schools are impacted, Gannon said PUSD will “send out a auto-dialer to all families at the phone numbers listed on Q Parent Connection at the affected schools to let you know if your child’s school will be affected.” A list of closed schools will also be posted on the district's website and social media pages.
Officials are advising residents to prepare for the shutoffs by planning for any medical needs, such as medications that require refrigeration or devices that need power, and making sure their emergency supply kit is fully stocked with food, water (one gallon every day for each person or pet in their household), flashlights, fresh batteries, first aid supplies, and cash.
Residents are urged to learn how to manually open their garage door, find backup methods for charging phones, and have a personal safety plan in place for all household members including pets. They are also advised to ensure their backup generator is ready to safely use.
Community resource centers will be open during the shutoffs for Alameda County residents at Merritt College Lot B on Leona Street in Oakland. Contra Costa County residents can visit the Bishop Ranch Parking Lot in San Ramon at 2600 Camino Ramon.
On Tuesday, PG&E’s main website was down following announcement of the shutoffs, which was heavily criticized by users. As of press time, the site (http://www.pge.com/pspsupdates) was still unavailable but PG&E continues to post updates on their Twitter account @PGE4Me. A Twitter account is not needed to view their messages.
PG&E also has two other websites with limited information available about the power shutoffs: www.pgecurrents.com and www.pgealerts.com.
Comments
Pleasanton Meadows
on Oct 8, 2019 at 9:47 pm
on Oct 8, 2019 at 9:47 pm
The current and decades long one democratic party rule in this California state is totally responsible for this current state of affairs!
Downtown
on Oct 9, 2019 at 5:13 am
on Oct 9, 2019 at 5:13 am
Court orderd pge to clear brush and trees away from power lines, and failed to do so , in fact they lied to the judge of how may miles the cleared. PGE continuous to get away with responsibility and now the consumer must suffer and pay higher PGE bills
Birdland
on Oct 9, 2019 at 8:44 am
on Oct 9, 2019 at 8:44 am
My PG&E bill has gone up about 30% compared to last year. Whatever it is that PG&E is forced to do, we're the ones paying for it. Take a look at your bills and compare it to last year's bills, you will be shocked too.
Birdland
on Oct 9, 2019 at 8:57 am
on Oct 9, 2019 at 8:57 am
Governor Gavin Useless sealed the deal with PG&E by signing off with the bill that the California taxpayers will be responsible for assisting with saving them from bankruptcy. But don’t worry, San Francisco will never have a blackout so Pelosi, Feinstein, and their constituents won’t be without power. We are slowly becoming Venezuela. Gavin can’t fix what is going on in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and other places of filth, trash, homelessness, and more, do you really think he can fix this? And let’s not even talk about the state’s problem with water.
Democrats own these problems, but the dumbing down of the state (America in general) tells us that we are in a free fall. More ‘takers’ are moving in and ‘producers’ are moving out of California. Gavin Useless is interested in housing and providing free healthcare for illegals rather than taking care of the taxpayers. Socialism is the new language of the Democratic Party, and we hear it in the talking points of the Party’s candidates with the word ‘free’ in front of everything.
Planned blackouts are a way of getting us conditioned to having less, but paying more. Technology has and is improving to provide these socialists with the ability to control more and more elements of our lives. China is a perfect example, and you know how the Democrats love China.
Buckle up!
Old Towne
on Oct 9, 2019 at 9:33 am
on Oct 9, 2019 at 9:33 am
It is time to let the ballot box fix the problems in California! The Domocrats need to be removed from governing California!
Castlewood
on Oct 9, 2019 at 10:00 am
on Oct 9, 2019 at 10:00 am
I would like to commend the Pleasanton Weekly for sending this alert. Good job and thank you.
Registered user
Castlewood
on Oct 9, 2019 at 10:17 am
Registered user
on Oct 9, 2019 at 10:17 am
I don't understand. There are days when the wind is so strong that it blows over my lawn furniture and umbrellas. Tree branches break and they don't shut off the power. Why is today different?
Downtown
on Oct 9, 2019 at 10:23 am
on Oct 9, 2019 at 10:23 am
People are projecting their intense anger inappropriately. Maybe the power to Fox and Friends should be turned off.
Registered user
Vineyard Avenue
on Oct 9, 2019 at 10:26 am
Registered user
on Oct 9, 2019 at 10:26 am
Why so different today? Extremely low humidity and PG&E likely worrying about the dollar cost of potential damages.
I have no idea why dry weather brings out the Democrat-haters. It's a foul wind though they're blowing.
Registered user
Another Pleasanton neighborhood
on Oct 9, 2019 at 12:45 pm
Registered user
on Oct 9, 2019 at 12:45 pm
Remember that we're all in this together.
It was the same when we all stepped in to shore up the finances of AIG when that great insurance company was struggling.
Web Link
Now we're doing the same for PG&E. There would be serious liability issues for PG&E if they didn't do these outages, and no one wants to see them get sued.
Another Pleasanton neighborhood
on Oct 9, 2019 at 2:16 pm
on Oct 9, 2019 at 2:16 pm
It's a bit like living in a "developing Nation"......................
Bonde Ranch
on Oct 9, 2019 at 2:40 pm
on Oct 9, 2019 at 2:40 pm
It seems as if we are going back in time. Out of control state government, governor, schools are getting worse, no electricity, huge homeless issue, crime up, drug abuse, and seemingly nothing gets done. Is this what a breakdown in society looks like before the violence starts? It seems like a very bad situation getting worse by the day.
Old Towne
on Oct 9, 2019 at 4:27 pm
on Oct 9, 2019 at 4:27 pm
It is amazing that no shut down in San Francisco? Could this be because Speak of the House and a Senator live in San Francisco?
Registered user
Bridle Creek
on Oct 9, 2019 at 4:40 pm
Registered user
on Oct 9, 2019 at 4:40 pm
“I have no idea why dry weather brings out the Democrat-haters.”
I do. We’ve finally taken Alinskys rules and turned them back on you.
No more Mr. Nice guys, cuz.
Dan
Registered user
Bridle Creek
on Oct 9, 2019 at 4:47 pm
Registered user
on Oct 9, 2019 at 4:47 pm
I don’t want to hear any g-d complaining from any Democrats on this thread.
Your party, your problem.
This state is going down fast. Roads are in shambles, homeless all over the damned place, taxes going to who knows what, electricity now being cut off for 800k...and the list goes on.
Own it dems, all under your watch.
Dan
Another Pleasanton neighborhood
on Oct 9, 2019 at 5:04 pm
on Oct 9, 2019 at 5:04 pm
Two items:
1) Why is the electric infrastructure no longer able to safely provide power during all typical weather? It worked pretty well for the first 100 years...
2) Why are PG&E and the media not doing a more careful job of precisely explaining who is impacted by the outages? "Pleasanton" is not having its power shut down. Small portions of Pleasanton may have their power shut down. "Berkeley" is not having its power shut down. But UC Berkeley and the hill neighborhoods are. Those differences are hugely important since the majority of the population is outside of the outage zones. Yet PG&E's press releases talk about entire counties and cities when, in most cases, only the urban-wilderness fringe neighborhoods are affected. Okay, so you can add in some nearby areas serviced by poorly-maintained open-air power lines going through wilderness areas. But the real-time map that would give people the granular information that is actually relevant to their lives is broken. The maps served up by the media are stale, can we trust them?
Pleasanton Heights
on Oct 9, 2019 at 7:32 pm
on Oct 9, 2019 at 7:32 pm
The outage areas are determined by fire danger by topography and by fire response zones. If you are close enough to fire stations or don't have much fuel to burn, no need for power to go down.
So many people with tinfoil hats in this town.
Birdland
on Oct 9, 2019 at 7:42 pm
on Oct 9, 2019 at 7:42 pm
To the commentator about ‘projecting,’ and ‘turning the power off to Fox’:
Projection is exactly what the Democratic Party has done for the last 3 years- what they blame the other side of doing, they are actually doing themselves. As to Fox, CNN and MSNBC wouldn’t touch this energy problem in California with a ten foot pole. They are ordered to protect all Democrats in power, whether Governors, Mayors, or other representatives. Mainstream media takes their orders, direction, and talking points from the DNC. Fox is the ONLY journalist news station on cable or TV. Though, to make a point, I only watch one show on Fox, and acquire my information through numerous articles, editorials, commentaries, and books.
Another Pleasanton neighborhood
on Oct 9, 2019 at 8:26 pm
on Oct 9, 2019 at 8:26 pm
FYI Bill:
PG&E utilities are underground in my neighborhood.
That is probably a contributing factor why locations north of Bernal Avenue along Foothill Road are not listed among locations for shutdown.
Another Pleasanton neighborhood
on Oct 9, 2019 at 9:09 pm
on Oct 9, 2019 at 9:09 pm
Pge has been run for decades by self serving incompetent greedy Republicans !!! It's time to break this monopoly up and have real oversight by a body of intelligent individuals... unlike the past and present PUC board members
Registered user
Vineyard Avenue
on Oct 9, 2019 at 9:46 pm
Registered user
on Oct 9, 2019 at 9:46 pm
Dan, you are too angry. This problem is entirely because PG&E is panicking. It's not because of Democrats or Republicans. The most odd thing about your comments is that you and I probably agree on roads and homeless, but you can't even see it because you're too furious.
SF isn't on alert because it's entirely developed and surrounded by water in three sides. No conspiracies. PG&E doesn't work for Pelosi.
I think you all need to get a grip. Paranoia is so 2018.
Another Pleasanton neighborhood
on Oct 10, 2019 at 7:35 am
on Oct 10, 2019 at 7:35 am
Third world California brought to you by democrat politicians and their supporters. Whose to blame?
The people who vote for and defend the politicians in California. Dem supporters take responsibility for what you have done.
This is what you have asked for and voted for Venezuela in California. If you support the current Democratic Party you are he problem. Crap on the streets, dirty water and air now powe outages caused by the lack of oversight by the very people you support. Why would anyone support these greedy selfish politicians most of whom are democrats. Not a political statement. It's a fact. If your to stupid to figure it out or to corrupt to care get the f out of the way. If your currently voting dem your an idiot in my opinion, or should I say useful idiot because that is exactly what you are. Suckers suckers suckers!!!!!
Registered user
Birdland
on Oct 10, 2019 at 8:50 am
Registered user
on Oct 10, 2019 at 8:50 am
I am compelled with the need to make one more point before leaving this blog: we Californians are experiencing a prelude of things to come. We are held captive to a monopoly which is controlling a vital component of our lives-energy. The Democrats have placed us in a stronghold of issues on the horizon. The warning signs (as it is said California leads the way of the rest of the country) are as clear as they can be if you are willing to look. America is becoming more and more dumbed-down each year, and the proof is in the talking points by the Democrats currently running for the Presidency.
Our suspension of electricity is due to the lack of responsibility by one of the largest utilities in the country: PG&E. Their failure to maintain their equipment was based on profits. The Democrats have pushed ‘The Climate Crisis’ (the new label) as the culprit in this aftermath when it has been the failure to maintain our forests, the refusal to build reservoirs, and again the neglect by PG&E to service their equipment in the state’s rural dense regions.
As I have said in my first comment, the Democrats can’t even get ahead of the problems growing in LA, San Francisco, and Oakland, to name a few cities run by Democrats for decades, do you really believe they have our interests here? This situation plays right into the hands of their Climate hoax with their control of our energy, control of our schools, control of our bathrooms, control of our speech, control of our guns- essentially control of our lives.
Change will only occur at the ballot box.
Downtown
on Oct 10, 2019 at 9:12 am
on Oct 10, 2019 at 9:12 am
@Jake Waters :” America is becoming more and more dumbed-down each year, and the proof is in the talking points by the Democrats currently running for the Presidency.”
So you’re saying that if we vote Republican then we won’t get a dumbed-down President in office?
Thanks for your (unintentionally) hilarious post!
Laguna Oaks
on Oct 10, 2019 at 11:02 am
on Oct 10, 2019 at 11:02 am
To try to make this power issue politically motivated is beyond my comprehension and makes about as much sense as denying climate change. The issue is above ground power lines which are related to weather power outage issues all over the country. It just that here, high winds cause them to start fires and destroy people’s homes and lives.PG&E is trying to prevent that in the only way they currently can. Hopefully, they can be forced to continue to clear lines so smaller area are affected in the future. The only way to really mitigate this is to bury lines, which isn’t going to happen anytime soon. In cold weather climates bad snow storms cause downed lines and sometimes week long outages and hurricanes have caused months long outages. This political rants are illogical and are going to do do nothing to protect those in high fire danger areas.
Bonde Ranch
on Oct 10, 2019 at 12:06 pm
on Oct 10, 2019 at 12:06 pm
Its much larger than just this power issue. What is happening is a continuance of poor leadership and yet we try and deny that fact. Our schools are in decline, infrastructure is falling apart, taxes are high. Both state legislatures are Democratic, governor is Democratic, Senators are Democratic.......yes I think we are in very deep weeds. We are just a couple years removed from water shortages and do we hear about creating more storage? no not a bit but we do hear about sanctuary cities, free healthcare for illegals and preferred entrance in college for the illegals. Just pointing out unpleasant truths.
Downtown
on Oct 10, 2019 at 12:25 pm
on Oct 10, 2019 at 12:25 pm
“.... governor is Democratic....”
Last Republican who I voted for for governor didn’t seem to accomplish much other than to get his family’s nanny pregnant.
Just sayin’.
Foothill High School
on Oct 10, 2019 at 12:55 pm
on Oct 10, 2019 at 12:55 pm
If PG&E intends to create this kind of hysteria and havoc and stick to their 'it's about safety' and 'we feel your pain' talking points, they need to upgrade their communications, forecast and IT/web capabilities. Heck, while they're at it, upgrade/maintain their infrastructure since it's the root of all of this. This isn't about politics, it's about incompetence.
Birdland
on Oct 10, 2019 at 1:01 pm
on Oct 10, 2019 at 1:01 pm
Wombat. At least the governor you refer to accomplished something. Can't say that for any of the others.
Birdland
on Oct 10, 2019 at 3:40 pm
on Oct 10, 2019 at 3:40 pm
@Wombat
If that is all you have, (which tells me your a liberal with no answers), perhaps you shouldn’t post.
Another Pleasanton neighborhood
on Oct 10, 2019 at 5:50 pm
on Oct 10, 2019 at 5:50 pm
So Fire danger has now become a political issue, Dems vs Reps. And it will be solved by who is in power, amazing. Sounds like Yankees vs Confederates all over again. We are all passengers on the spaceship Earth and residents of same state. Let's work together and instead of against and solve the problem of inadequate power service
Birdland
on Oct 10, 2019 at 6:30 pm
on Oct 10, 2019 at 6:30 pm
The PUC determines how PGE spends their money on capital projects. The PUC is not interested in allowing PGE to spend money on infrastructure improvements and brush clearing. They are interested in so called renewable energy. What is the political make up of the PUC. Dig deeper and you may find the real problem.
Another Pleasanton neighborhood
on Oct 10, 2019 at 7:47 pm
on Oct 10, 2019 at 7:47 pm
A lot of things are beyond a lot of peoples compression. This clearly is one of them when the answer is right under your nose.
Bury the lines, should have been done 40 years ago. Politics are always involved. Elected politicians not doing their jobs.
6th largest economy in the world can't keep its lights on n the 21st century. One question regarding climate change.
Is climate change bad ?
Downtown
on Oct 10, 2019 at 9:39 pm
on Oct 10, 2019 at 9:39 pm
@WOW wrote “ Wombat. At least the governor you refer to accomplished something. “
LOL! Wow. I can’t believe that 12 people upvoted you for that response!
Another Pleasanton neighborhood
on Oct 10, 2019 at 9:42 pm
on Oct 10, 2019 at 9:42 pm
Wombat you will never get it!
Bonde Ranch
on Oct 11, 2019 at 12:33 pm
on Oct 11, 2019 at 12:33 pm
Highdiver,
Only one thing wrong in your comments. There is no North and South, nor Democrat and Republicans only Dems and more Dems. They have made our state a mess and have no idea how to get out nor do they have anyone to blame. Looks like they own this entire mess and better come up with a solution and quick.
Registered user
Old Towne
on Oct 11, 2019 at 2:29 pm
Registered user
on Oct 11, 2019 at 2:29 pm
Let the ballot box do your talking! It's time that we take back control of the State from these Liberals!
Registered user
Bridle Creek
on Oct 11, 2019 at 7:55 pm
Registered user
on Oct 11, 2019 at 7:55 pm
Last I heard, PGE is a publicly regulated utility, with oversight provided by a government committee.
So far as I can see, not much "regulating" going on here...
This is the Democrat governments fault.
Own it.
Dan