Winds, Dry Weather Spurs Red Flag Warnings Across East Bay Area

EAST BAY AREA, CA — Most of the Bay Area was set to fall under a red flag warning Sunday night as intense and dry gusts of 15 to 30 mph, and in some areas 50 mph, were expected to rip through the region. The weather could elevate fire danger, and could prompt PG&E to cut power to some 2,500 customers.

The warnings will go into effect at 11 p.m. Sunday, lasting through 11 a.m. Monday, when winds are expected to calm down, according to the National Weather Service.

Red flag warnings will be in place for the entire North Bay, East Bay and San Francisco Peninsula, along with the Santa Cruz mountains and the Diablo Range for these strong northwest winds.

About 2,500 PG&E customers in Napa, Sonoma and Lake counties could lose power early Monday morning as elevated fire danger could prompt the utility to initiate a Public Safety Power Shutoff.

The Napa County Office of Emergency Services said Saturday night that the outage could hit communities around 4 a.m. Monday. Power would be restored sometime between 8 p.m. and midnight Tuesday.

During the warning period, "Winds will be strong enough to bring down trees, branches and cause power outages," according to the NWS.

Fire fuel was also at or nearing record dry levels for early December as the state experiences La Nina conditions this winter. Outdoor wood burning of any kind is not recommended.

Bay City News contributed to this report.