PG&E Crews Out in Full Force Restoring Power Amid Historic Storm Conditions Across Northern and Central California

UPDATE: Jan. 9, 10:30 a.m.

PG&E continues to deploy crews to restore customers and monitor conditions during extreme weather in our service area.

Monday’s atmospheric river is especially affecting California’s Central Coast, including Monterey and Santa Cruz counties. As of 10 a.m. on Jan. 9, nearly 20,000 customers were currently without power along the Central Coast due to a storm that has created localized flooding and prompted evacuation orders in many communities. Systemwide, there are approximately 92,000 customers experiencing outages.

In many portions of the Central Coast, storm conditions, including flooding and high winds, have made it unsafe for PG&E crews to work. Those conditions may lead to extended outages for customers in those areas. PG&E has crews staged and standing by in the area, waiting for weather conditions to improve. As soon as it becomes safe to do so, crews will begin the process of restoring power safely and as quickly as possible. 

We anticipate access to damaged areas may be difficult, which could add to the time it takes to restore power. Flooding, downed trees, and unstable soil contributing to falling rock and debris flows are all likely to occur and pose hazards for crews seeking access.

Customers are also encouraged to stay up to date on local public safety announcements. Current evacuation warnings and orders are available at AWARE – Zonehaven. 

[Aerial photo above of PG&E base camp near Santa Cruz]

UPDATE: Jan. 9, 7:40 a.m.

Our service area continued to experience widespread rain, gusty winds and thunderstorm overnight and throughout the morning.

As of 8 a.m. today (Jan. 9), about 90,000 customers are currently without power. Since the initial storm hit on New Year’s Eve weekend, crews have restored about 1.6 million customers (as of Dec. 30 at 2pm). PG&E continues assessing damage and working to restore remaining customers.

In some portions of the service area, high winds, flooding, and soil instability issues have made it unsafe for crews to work, which may lead to extended outages for our customers.

This most recent series of weather systems will continue to impact PG&E’s service area bringing gusty winds, moderate to heavy rain and mountain snow through Tuesday.

PG&E has more than 4,000 dedicated personnel responding to the storm, including contractors and mutual-aid utilities from southern California, Oregon, Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, New Mexico, Colorado, Washington, Wisconsin and Canada.

We understand how important electricity is to keeping you and your family safe in the winter months, and we will continue working tirelessly to restore power. 

UPDATE: Jan. 8, 8:35 p.m.

As of 8:35 p.m. today (Jan. 8), about 52,725 customers impacted by the recent storms are currently without power. 

UPDATE: Jan. 8, 5 p.m.

As of 5 p.m. today (Jan. 8), about 68,800 customers impacted by the recent storms are currently without power. 

Adding to the series of winter storms, the incoming weather system is expected to bring strong winds, heavy rain and snow and a chance of thunderstorms leading to localized flooding, soil instability, and fallen trees. More than 4,100 crews along with resources are staged throughout our service area, including regions most impacted by the storms. The coordination around this series of storms is one of the largest emergency response efforts in our history. 

PG&E currently has two basecamps in Mendocino and Santa Cruz counties to stage resources and house hundreds of PG&E, contractor and mutual aid crews to support storm response and restoration efforts. 

Additionally, PG&E is supporting our customers who are experiencing extended outages by:

• Providing nearly 3,000 go bags with water, snacks, a battery pack for charging devices and blankets at warming centers in El Dorado, Humboldt, San Mateo, Sonoma and Yolo counties.
• Calling our customers on the Medical Baseline program, providing 2-1-1 as a support line and referring customers to other resources based on their needs.
• Providing additional support to customers with Access and Functional Needs on a case-by-case basis. 

Compounded impacts from successive storms could impede access and cause safety risks for customers and PG&E crews. Please be prepared in the event that an outage occurs in your area. Safety tips can be found here: Safety and Preparedness, Storm Safety, and Safety Action Center.

UPDATE: Jan. 8, 1 p.m.

As of 1 p.m. today (Jan. 8), about 111,000 customers are currently without power.

A regional snapshot with details on the impact to PG&E’s infrastructure from the recent series of storms can be found below:

Important safety reminder for customers: Never touch downed wires. If you see a downed power line, assume it is energized and extremely dangerous. Do not touch or try to move it—and keep children and animals away. Report downed power lines immediately by calling 911 and by calling PG&E at 1-800-743-5002. 

Regional snapshot:

North Bay:

A transmission line was damaged in the storm on January 4, which delayed restoration for many customers in the area. When repairs to the transmission line were completed, we identified many areas of additional damage to distribution lines served by that transmission circuit. Additionally, fallen trees in the West Marin are creating safety risks for crews and further delaying our restoration efforts.

Sonoma County area:

Fallen trees in the Fort Ross and Monte Rio areas are creating access and safety risks for our crews. Due to the number of tree risks, work has been delayed in some areas until it is deemed safe to resume. We have seen multiple outages on the same circuits as newly repaired lines are damaged by additional trees that were knocked down by the continued stormy weather. We have both electric and vegetation crews standing by to resume work when it is safe.

North Valley and Sierra areas:

The North Valley and Sierra areas experienced widespread damage in multiple communities overnight from the most recent storm. Our initial response is focused on making our communities safe, due to multiple poles and powerlines on the ground. We are working safely and as quickly as possible to assess the damage and assign crews to repair and restore power.

Central Valley including the area around Stockton and north of Fresno:

This area experienced high winds and rains overnight resulting in widespread damage in many of our communities. Crews are working safely and as quickly as possible to assess the widespread damage due to downed poles, wires, and trees so crews can begin repairs and restore power.

North Coast region:

The North Coast region including Humboldt, Trinity, Siskiyou, Mendocino and Lake counties continues to be impacted by the winter storm series with hundreds of outages that require equipment repairs. In many cases, our crews have had to stand-down for safety due to hazardous wind conditions. We also have ongoing access issues due to flooding, landslides and fallen trees across roads. Numerous downed trees and limbs have to be mitigated before equipment repairs can begin. In rugged mountain terrain, foot patrol is required to visually inspect equipment as weather conditions prevent aerial patrol of electric lines. We are working safely and as quickly as possible to assess the damage and assign crews to repair and restore power. 

Santa Cruz County:

In preparation for the incoming weather, PG&E set up a centralized base camp in Santa Cruz with strategically placed locations throughout the County to store materials days before the New Year’s Eve weekend storm. The storm series continues to hit Santa Cruz County requiring our crews to stand down for safety and impacting our restoration efforts while creating new outages daily since Jan. 4. The area has experienced extreme damage due to mud slides, rock slides, flooding, and fallen trees, which has damaged our equipment and limited our access to visually inspect lines before repairs can begin. Additionally, required foot patrols in rugged mountain terrain have created delays as the weather has prevented most aerial patrols. We will continue to work safely and as quickly as possible to assess damage and assign crews to repair and restore power. 

San Mateo County:

San Mateo County, particularly the coastal region, has experienced widespread damage in multiple communities from the recent storms. The heavy rains and strong winds have caused widespread damage and will continue to do so as additional weather fronts come in throughout the week. Challenges created by the weather such as fallen trees, flooding, strong winds, unstable soil, road closures and washed-out bridges have created delays in inspecting infrastructure to repair and restore power. In many cases, our crews are still assessing the full extent of damage that’s occurred to the electric system in your area. 

UPDATE: Jan. 8, 9 a.m.

Our service area experienced widespread rain, gusty winds and thunderstorms yesterday and overnight.

As of 9 a.m. today (Jan. 8), about 161,000 customers are currently without power. Since the initial storm hit on New Year’s Eve weekend, crews have restored about 1.5 million customers (as of Dec. 30 at 2pm). PG&E continues assessing damage and working to restore remaining customers.

A series of weather systems will continue to impact PG&E’s service area bringing gusty winds, moderate to heavy rain and mountain snow through Tuesday. Localized flooding and soil instability issues are expected to continue.

PG&E has more than 4,000 dedicated personnel responding to the storm, including contractors and mutual-aid utilities from southern California, Oregon, Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, New Mexico, Colorado, Washington, Wisconsin and Canada.

We understand how important electricity is to keeping you and your family safe in the winter months, and we will continue working tirelessly to restore power. 

UPDATE: Jan. 7, 7 p.m.

PG&E crews have restored power to more than 712,000 customers since the last storm began Wednesday (Jan. 4). Crews have restored…