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| California: north and south battle wildfires as preventive shutoffs hit millions | |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| Gusts reaching 70mph raked the San Francisco Bay Area early on Thursday after California’s biggest utility shut off electricity to nearly 2 million people for fear high winds in the forecast could bring down power lines and spark deadly wildfires. | Gusts reaching 70mph raked the San Francisco Bay Area early on Thursday after California’s biggest utility shut off electricity to nearly 2 million people for fear high winds in the forecast could bring down power lines and spark deadly wildfires. |
| The fire danger that led Pacific Gas & Electric to turn out the lights over a large section of northern and central California shifted to southern California as raging winds moved down the state. Major utilities in Los Angeles and San Diego warned they could be forced to cut off power to an estimated half-million people. | The fire danger that led Pacific Gas & Electric to turn out the lights over a large section of northern and central California shifted to southern California as raging winds moved down the state. Major utilities in Los Angeles and San Diego warned they could be forced to cut off power to an estimated half-million people. |
| Unprecedented shutoffs in northern California | |
| Unprecedented in scope, the deliberate outages by PG&E in northern California forced schools and businesses to close and otherwise disrupted life for many people, bringing criticism on the company from the governor and ordinary customers alike. | Unprecedented in scope, the deliberate outages by PG&E in northern California forced schools and businesses to close and otherwise disrupted life for many people, bringing criticism on the company from the governor and ordinary customers alike. |
| On Wednesday, PG&E cut power to an estimated 600,000 customers in the San Francisco Bay area as well as wine country north of San Francisco, which was hit hard by wildfires in 2017 and the region north of Sacramento devastated by the November 2018 Camp fire. That included parts of the agricultural Central Valley and the Sierra Nevada foothills – where the Camp fire, blamed on PG&E transmission lines, killed 85 and virtually incinerated the town of Paradise. The city of San Francisco was not in the shutoff zone. | On Wednesday, PG&E cut power to an estimated 600,000 customers in the San Francisco Bay area as well as wine country north of San Francisco, which was hit hard by wildfires in 2017 and the region north of Sacramento devastated by the November 2018 Camp fire. That included parts of the agricultural Central Valley and the Sierra Nevada foothills – where the Camp fire, blamed on PG&E transmission lines, killed 85 and virtually incinerated the town of Paradise. The city of San Francisco was not in the shutoff zone. |
| PG&E warned that customers might have to do without power for days after the winds subside because “every inch” of the system must be inspected by helicopters and thousands of workers and declared safe before the grid is reactivated. | PG&E warned that customers might have to do without power for days after the winds subside because “every inch” of the system must be inspected by helicopters and thousands of workers and declared safe before the grid is reactivated. |
| Police ordered evacuations early on Thursday as a fast-moving wildfire spread in the hills of a San Francisco Bay Area community. | Police ordered evacuations early on Thursday as a fast-moving wildfire spread in the hills of a San Francisco Bay Area community. |
| Firefighters in the Moraga-Orinda area responded to the scene near the St Mary’s College campus. The school did not immediately appear threatened but 100 homes were initially evacuated, before the order was lifted for about 50 of the homes some hours later. | Firefighters in the Moraga-Orinda area responded to the scene near the St Mary’s College campus. The school did not immediately appear threatened but 100 homes were initially evacuated, before the order was lifted for about 50 of the homes some hours later. |
| The California department of forestry and fire protection (Cal Fire) said the flames had consumed about 60 acres in little more than two hours. | The California department of forestry and fire protection (Cal Fire) said the flames had consumed about 60 acres in little more than two hours. |
| Later in the day, fire crews in area battled another blaze, with television images showing a helicopter dumping water on flames near power lines and electricity towers on the San Bruno mountain. | Later in the day, fire crews in area battled another blaze, with television images showing a helicopter dumping water on flames near power lines and electricity towers on the San Bruno mountain. |
| Thousands lose power in southern California | |
| In southern California, the Southern California Edison utility shut off power for about 12,000 people as strong Santa Ana winds swept parts of the region. | |
| The affected areas include communities north of Los Angeles, east along the foothills of the San Bernardino Mountains and to the north-west in Ventura county. | The affected areas include communities north of Los Angeles, east along the foothills of the San Bernardino Mountains and to the north-west in Ventura county. |
| The company is considering further power cuts to nearly 174,000 customers. | The company is considering further power cuts to nearly 174,000 customers. |
| The National Weather Service reported wind gusts topping 50mph (80km/h) in some areas. | The National Weather Service reported wind gusts topping 50mph (80km/h) in some areas. |
| On Thursday afternoon, a mobile home community burned and a middle school was evacuated as a wildfire rapidly spread in the Calimesa area of Riverside county. The fire quickly destroyed about two dozen homes as crews with air support scrambled to contain it. | |
| The cause was not known, and the area was not listed among the latest communities where Southern California Edison has cut power. | |
| Just to the west of Calimesa, firefighters contained a blaze that damaged two homes near Fontana. It was not immediately clear whether the power outage included the location where the fire broke out. | |
| Growing anger at PG&E | |
| PG&E has a 70,000-square-mile service area, and serves more than a third of the state. The utility declared bankruptcy in January, in part because of potential liabilities from its role in some of the 2017 fires and the Camp fire. | |
| PG&E began practicing preventive shutoffs this year during red flag fire weather conditions – high winds and low humidity – after investigators found it at fault in two of the deadliest wildfires in California’s history, both within the past two years. | PG&E began practicing preventive shutoffs this year during red flag fire weather conditions – high winds and low humidity – after investigators found it at fault in two of the deadliest wildfires in California’s history, both within the past two years. |
| Some of the wildfires started because of trees falling on power lines – trees that should have been cleared by PG&E because of their proximity to the lines. In the 2018 Camp fire, the utility’s outdated infrastructure was implicated. | Some of the wildfires started because of trees falling on power lines – trees that should have been cleared by PG&E because of their proximity to the lines. In the 2018 Camp fire, the utility’s outdated infrastructure was implicated. |
| By Thursday, PG&E had restored power to some areas, reducing the number of people in the dark to about 1.5 million. | By Thursday, PG&E had restored power to some areas, reducing the number of people in the dark to about 1.5 million. |
| Amid warm temperatures and strong winds, major shutoffs are expected to become a staple in a state gripped by the climate crisis. | Amid warm temperatures and strong winds, major shutoffs are expected to become a staple in a state gripped by the climate crisis. |
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