Winter Storm Cleanup
Sonora, CA – Cleanup continues across the Mother Lode today.
As of this afternoon there are still around 5,000 PG&E customers without electricity in Tuolumne County and 2,000 in Calaveras County. Meanwhile, some residents with power are dealing with a lack of cable television and internet service.
Tuolumne County Administrator Craig Pedro reports that there are 61 PG&E crews in the county working to restore the remaining power outages. Each crew is made up of 3-5 people. There are an additional 15 PG&E tree crews and 21 trouble shooters. The hope is that most all areas of the county will have electricity restored by tonight. Some outlying areas could be without power into Tuesday. Much of the current focus today is on Crystal Falls, Phoenix Lake and Tuolumne.
Around 60 T.U.D. Workers are out trying to clear the ditch system from snow and ice to make sure that water can get into the storage tanks. Area firefighters and other law enforcement officials have been helping to remove fallen trees and branches from roadways. Companies like ATT and Comcast have been busy working to restore television and internet service in various areas because of trees into utility lines.
“There’s really a small army out there working to restore services,” says Pedro.
Most of the roads are now clear of snow in Tuolumne County. But Pedro notes that the county crews were out in force this morning sanding the roads to help eliminate ice from the freezing temperatures.
