Menlo Park Area Power Outage: PG&E Starts Safety Shutdown

MENLO PARK, CA — The second phase of PG&E's Public Safety Power Shutoff hit Santa Clara County late Wednesday night. The outages were expected to leave more than 38,000 county residents without power.

Initially scheduled to start around noon, the shutoff was delayed multiple times due to changes to the weather forecast, according to PG&E. The second phase will impact service for about 234,000 customers in the Bay Area and Sierra Foothills, according to PG&E.

The first phase of power outages started around midnight Wednesday in the North Bay.

Menlo Park's warning was issued out of an abundance of caution, the city said, and as of Thursday afternoon, PG&E's online maps showed that the city was not affected.

The shutoffs come as strong, dry winds are set to hit the area, creating a fire risk. The outages could last longer than 48 hours, and the agency is recommending that households prepare for the possibility of several days without power.

As of Thursday afternoon, here are the latest updates on what's happening around Menlo Park (keep checking throughout the day for the latest):

• Menlo Park City schools are open, The Almanac reported, but Portola Valley Elementary School District and private Woodside Priory in Portola Valley canceled Thursday classes .
• PG&E continues to update its maps at http://critweb-outage.pgealerts.com/. Please note that this site has been experiencing heavy traffic and may be slow at times. PG&E is also posting information on Twitter: @PGE4Me.
• No reported road closures.