The Latest on planned power shutoffs to prevent wildfires (all times local):
10:15 a.m.
Pacific Gas & Electric Company says it is proceeding with planned power shutoffs that will affect nearly 180,000 customers throughout portions of Northern California.
A man watches as firefighters prepare to enter his backyard to fight a wildfire in the Pacific Palisades area of Los Angeles, Monday, Oct. 21, 2019. The blaze broke out Monday morning in a coastal canyon of the affluent Pacific Palisades neighborhood. The flames quickly churned uphill through dry brush as helicopters made water drops to keep it from reaching large houses at the top of a bluff. Firefighters in backyards are using water hoses to protect structures. The cause is unknown. (AP PhotoChristian Monterrosa)
The utility says the shutoffs affecting about 450,000 people are expected to begin around 2 p.m. Wednesday in the Sierra Foothills, followed soon after by blackouts north of the San Francisco Bay Area. In all, the power will be cut to portions of 17 counties.
PG&E says the shutoffs are needed to prevent wildfires caused by downed or fouled power lines as the National Weather Service forecasts gusty winds amid hot, dry weather.
Meanwhile, Southern California Edison says it could cut power Thursday to more than 160,000 customers in six counties and San Diego Gas & Electric is warning of power shutoffs to about 24,000 customers.
Firefighters protect a home from a wildfire in the Pacific Palisades area of Los Angeles, Monday, Oct. 21, 2019. (AP PhotoChristian Monterrosa)
12 a.m.:
Pacific Gas & Electric will decide Wednesday whether to black out some half-million customers as dangerous fire weather returns to California.
PG&E says it could begin precautionary power shutoffs as early as Wednesday afternoon to about 189,000 homes and businesses in portions of 16 counties, mostly in the Sierra foothills and north of the San Francisco Bay Area.
A Los Angeles County Fire Department helicopter makes a water drop as flames from a wildfire threaten homes on a ridgeline in the Pacific Palisades area of Los Angeles Monday, Oct. 21, 2019. (AP PhotoReed Saxon)
The utility says the outages will last about 48 hours.
A blackout two weeks ago affected about 2 million people in northern and central California. PG&E says both shutoffs were aimed at preventing wildfires caused by downed or fouled power lines. The danger is from gusty winds in the midst of hot, dry weather.
Meanwhile, Southern California Edison says it could cut power Thursday to about 132,000 customers in six counties — around 300,000 people.
Firefighters begin hosing down the flames of a wildfire called the Palisades Fire minutes after it ignites on Monday, Oct. 21, 2019 in Pacific Palisades, a suburb of Los Angeles. A furious firefighting air and ground attack beat back the wildfire Monday as it raced up canyon walls toward multimillion-dollar ocean-view homes on a ridge in Los Angeles. (AP PhotoChristian Monterrosa)