Piedmont: PG&E Informs City Of Power Shutoff

PIEDMONT, CA — PG&E has warned Alameda County that 35,000 residences and businesses could have their power shut off starting early Wednesday morning, Oct. 9, unless the weather forecast for high winds changes. Piedmont was not on the list of impacted cities released by PG&E.

However, the City of Piedmont reports Tuesday night that a PG&E Public Safety Power Shutoff, or PSPS, will definitely happen, starting at noon or later on Wednesday.

The city said in a release,"Based upon information provided by PG&E it appears that all or portions on the following streets in Piedmont will most likely be included in this PSPS:

• Blair Avenue
• Blair Place
• Calvert Court
• Cambrian Avenue
• Cavanagh Court
• Cavendish Lane
• Crest Road
• Croydon Circle
• Estates Drive
• Farragut Avenue
• Glen Alpine Road
• Hampton Road
• Huntleigh Road
• Indian Road
• King Avenue
• La Salle Avenue
• Lexford Road
• Marlborough Court
• Sandringham Place
• Sandringham Road
• Sea View Avenue
• Selborne Drive
• Somerset Road
• Sotelo Avenue
• St. James Circle
• St. James Drive
• St. James Place
• Trestle Glen Road
• Tyson Circle
• Valant Place

"It is probable that electricity to all residences, businesses, schools, mobile phone towers, and public facilities in the affected area may be turned off."

This will be the first time that the East Bay has been impacted by a PSPS.

PG&E says it could take up to five days, or longer, to restore electricity because it plans to inspect power lines before re-energizing them.

And it's not just Alameda County. Parts of Contra Costa County here in the East Bay will also be impacted, as will the greater Bay Area.

Here is the list of Alameda County cities that may lose power:

• Albany (PG&E listed Albany under the Contra Costa County warning)
• Berkeley
• Castro Valley
• Fremont
• Hayward
• Livermore
• Oakland
• Piedmont (not included by PG&E)
• Pleasanton
• San Leandro
• Sunol
• Union City

Here are screen shots of the PG&E website taken Tuesday morning showing cities in the planned shutoff areas. Note that Piedmont is missing, Berkeley is in both counties, and Albany is in Contra Costa instead of Alameda County.

>>Related: Red Flag Warning Issued For Much Of NorCal: NWS

Here's a close-up of the map provided by PG&E of the potential outage area:

Here is a map of the greater Bay Area:

Residents have just a short time to prepare. Here's a cheat sheet for before and during a power shutoff —

Before the Shutoff:

• Plan for your family and pet medical needs. Do you have enough prescription meds? If you have major medical needs that depend upon electricity, is it safer for you to relocate to a friend's or family member's home out of the area?
• Have an emergency supply kit with food and water.
• Flashlights? Extra batteries?
• Keep all of your mobile devices charged.
• Identify backup charging methods.
• Store water and non-perishable foods.
• If you have a generator, do you have extra fuel?
• Keep vehicle fuel tanks full.
• Remember, gas stations, stores and ATMs in the immediate area will be closed.
• Know how to use the manual release on your garage door.
• Talk with your neighbors and friends and share your plans.

During the outage:

• Keep freezers and refrigerators closed.
• Monitor freezer and refrigerator temperatures with a thermometer.
• Use perishable food supplies first.
• Use generators, stoves and grills outdoors away from windows.
• Disconnect electronics and appliances to avoid damage from electrical surges.
• Check on neighbors, animals and family.
• Drive safely and slowly as traffic signals may not be functioning properly.

Earlier Monday, PG&E issued a press release saying that it may proactively turn off power in portions of 30 counties in Northern and Central California due to a National Weather Service fire weather watch for vast portions of the Golden State.

"The National Interagency Fire Center's Geographic Area Coordination Center is also forecasting significant fire potential across Northern California beginning on Wednesday of this week," said Deanna Contreras, PG&E spokeswoman.

The 30 counties: Alameda, Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Colusa, Contra Costa, El Dorado, Glenn, Lake, Mariposa, Mendocino, Napa, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, San Joaquin, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Shasta, Sierra, Solano, Sonoma, Stanislaus, Tehama, Tuolumne, Yolo and Yuba.

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