Wind-triggered safety shutoffs, downed tree leave 5,000 without power in Napa, Sonoma counties
More than 5,000 Pacific Gas and Electric Co. customers in Napa and Sonoma counties were without electricity Monday after the utility raised the sensitivity of power lines due to 55 mph wind gusts and low humidity.
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More than 5,000 Pacific Gas and Electric Co. customers in Napa and Sonoma counties were without electricity Monday after the utility raised the sensitivity of power lines due to 55 mph wind gusts and low humidity.
PG&E activated its fast shutoff system Monday to reduce wildfire risk as strong winds swept through the region. The system automatically cuts power within a tenth of a second when something — like a tree branch — touches a line. When that happens, crews must inspect the entire line before turning the power back on, PG&E spokesperson Megan McFarland said.
Around 1:20 a.m., a tree fell onto a power line along Highway 128 and broke a pole, cutting electricity to 363 customers from north of Calistoga into Sonoma County. Crews made an emergency repair, and power is expected to be restored by 3:30 p.m.
Just before 11 a.m., a separate outage knocked out power to 1,340 customers in Calistoga. The power was restored by early afternoon.
Two additional outages later Monday morning affected 302 customers near Lake Hennessy and 548 in the Oakville-Rutherford area, for which power was partially restored by 2:15 p.m. Those customers could see power fully restored by 9 p.m. and 10 p.m., respectively.
More than 900 customers around Yountville lost power about 2 p.m. and 2,807 customers lost power in northeast Santa Rosa, mostly around Fountain Grove Parkway.
Meanwhile, PG&E shut off power to 133 customers near Lake Berryessa for planned maintenance.
This is developing. Check back for updates.
You can reach Staff Writer Madison Smalstig at madison.smalstig@pressdemocrat.com. On X (Twitter) @madi.smals.