Update: PG&E Planning To Give All Clear On Monday Morning

Photo by: Tracey Petersen

Update at 6:15pm: The “all-clear” from the weather event is now anticipated to come early Monday morning, around 6am, and PG&E will begin patrolling shortly after to inspect the lines for any damage.

PG&E will then turn the power on as the various areas are deemed safe. Water districts continue to request conservation this evening as facilities are running on backup generators. The CHP and Caltrans urge caution while approaching intersections and treat all stop lights as four way stops.

PG&E continues to warn that another wind event could come by Tuesday morning. The latest update is that power could be shut off again in the region on Tuesday and through midday on Wednesday.

Additional weather modeling will occur this evening and more updates will be released tomorrow morning.

For some early school-related information, click here.

Update at 1:45pm: The Tuolumne County Office of Emergency Services reports that the “all clear” from the weather event is still anticipated to come around midnight.

That said, the weather is beginning to moderate in areas to the north, and PG&E is looking at the potential of moving up the re-energization process in that area of the state.

Jason Terry with the Tuolumne County Office of Emergency Services notes, “I spoke with a National Weather Service representative this morning and learned that Tuolumne County had recorded highs for gusts of 35 mph at Mt Elizabeth and 31mph in Twain Harte.”

Heavy winds have also been noticeable at times this afternoon in the Mother Lode.

He adds, “A point of clarification, if we are given the all-clear at midnight as planned, patrols will begin at first light to reinspect lines. While they will not inspect at night, they will work to preposition resources for inspection.”

When it comes to another potential planned outage in the days ahead, Terry says it could occur as early as Tuesday, updating an earlier statement.

He adds, “The timelines will continue to be refined as we draw closer to the potential event. Even with a possible upcoming event, it is the intent of PG&E to continue to restore power up to the point where they will be de-energizing for another event. This means we could potentially be partially or fully restored before the next potential event.”

Update at 8:23am: In response to the power outages across the Mother Lode, Tuolumne County Office of Emergency Services representative Jason Terry updates, “There has been no change in the all-clear time which should occur around midnight tonight. After the all-clear, PG&E will begin the process of restoring power systematically across the County and deal with any potential damages to their infrastructure.”

More updates will come throughout the day.

It is unclear what the wind speeds reached in Tuolumne County overnight, but Terry says in other areas of the state, up to the north, PG&E recorded sustained winds of 72 mph and a top speed of 93 mph.

There is also an increasing chance of another PSPS event in a few days. Terry says, “There is another system that is a few days behind this current event that could create conditions for another PSPS around mid-week. This system is forecasting weaker than this current event, but still may meet the wind/humidity conditions that lead to these Public Safety Power Shutoffs. PG&E noted that while the winds are not quite as strong as this event, the winds are continuing to dry out the fuels and create even lower humidity conditions.  As we have seen with this current event, weather conditions are dynamic and forecasts change constantly. However as an early look, a potential PSPS could occur as early as Wednesday morning.”

Information about Community Resource Centers is listed below.

Original story at 7:33am: Sonora, CA — During the early morning hours, around 1am Sunday, PG&E cut power across Tuolumne and Calaveras counties.

The latest estimate is that the anticipated weather event will last 24 hours, and the company hopes to give the all-clear at around midnight so that it can begin the process of inspecting lines to see if there is any damage. There is not an estimate as to when electricity will be restored. PG&E indicates that the planned outage is impacting upwards of around 900,000 addresses in the state.

There will be numerous community resource centers open today in the Mother Lode. In Tuolumne County, they are at Eproson Park in Twain Harte, Mary Laveroni Park in Groveland, and the Motherlode Fairgrounds in Sonora. In Calaveras County, they are located at the Meadowmont Shopping Center in Arnold, West Point VFW Hall and in the Roundtable Pizza parking lot in Valley Springs.

Caltrans notes that many stoplights are not working today, so you should treat them as though they are stop signs.

Water districts are asking for conservation during the planned power outage because facilities are running on backup generators.

The City of Angels Camp will host a community meeting at 10am today at Utica Park to discuss the city’s response to the outage and answer any questions. You can also charge devices today at the Angels Camp City Hall.