Here's why PG&E didn't implement a public safety shutoff during recent fire weather
(Graphic by Solano NewsNet)
Over the last few years, the threat of wildfires brought on by hot weather and high winds has come hand-in-hand with the dread of losing electricity for an extended period of time.
The practice is known as a public safety power shutoff, or PSPS, and when hot weather combines with low humidity and gusty wind, the utility company has been known to implement rolling blackouts for areas that are the most fire-prone.
The move comes after PG&E’s aging utility equipment has been blamed for starting several destructive and deadly wildfires over the past few years, including the deadly Camp Fire that destroyed the town of Paradise in 2018.
PSPS events can happen anywhere, but they typically originate in rural parts of California where above-ground power and high-transmission lines are present. Portions of Solano County, including rural Fairfield, Vallejo, Benicia and Rio Vista, have been subject to planned outages in the past in an effort to prevent wildfires.
Understandably, there was some expectation that PG&E might implement a public safety outage over the weekend and into the start of this week when weather forecasters issued one of the first Red Flag Warnings for Solano County and much of the Sacramento valley. But that didn’t happen.
Solano NewsNet wanted to know why PG&E didn’t issue a public safety power shutoff for this weekend, even though weather conditions seemed to warrant them. So we reached out to a PG&E spokesperson, who gave us an answer early Tuesday morning.
Megan McFarland, a spokesperson for PG&E, affirmed PSPS events are typically called for when severe weather generates conditions that put people’s lives, property and businesses under the threat of a possible wildfire.
McFarland said PG&E considers a PSPS event when a weather forecast for an area calls for low humidity levels that are at or below 20 percent, sustained wind above 25 miles per hour, gusts in excess of 45 miles per hour and a Red Flag Warning declared by the National Weather Service.
Most of those conditions were in play this weekend, but PG&E still didn’t issue a PSPS event for Solano County or anywhere else in Northern California. McFarland explains the utility’s decision was based on other factors, including individual circumstances of each weather forecast given over the weekend.
“There were reports of a north-south wind straight down the [Sacramento] Valley, but not offshore winds,” McFarland explained. “We also still have decent fuel moisture. As a result, there was no PSPS initiated for this weekend, nor do we see one coming in the future.”
There were some fires that started over the weekend, including a large grass fire in rural Solano County, but none of the fires so far have been linked to PG&E’s equipment.
McFarland said it’s a good idea for people who live in wildfire-risk areas to be prepared, especially given that this week is Wildfire Preparedness Week.
Some wildfire-preparedness tips offered by PG&E include trimming back trees, shrubs and bushes in order to create a defensible space around a property. Regularly cleaning out roofs and gutters can also help, as does installing fire-resistant plants on a property.
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