SAN FRANCISCO – Service has been restored to nearly all customers affected by a public safety power shutoff this week, Pacific Gas and Electric Co. announced late Friday.
The shutoff, which began Wednesday evening, affected 41,000 customers in parts of 24 counties, including Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz.
As of 5 p.m. Friday, the utility had restored service to 38,000 customers and expected to restore service to the remaining 3,000 customers by the end of the evening, the utility said in a news release.
The utility said the shutoff was triggered by hot, dry and windy conditions, “which together created high risk of catastrophic wildfires.”
Wind gusts of more than 50 mph were recorded in high fire danger areas including Napa, San Mateo and Yolo counties, PG&E said. Gusts were stronger elsewhere, peaking at 61 mph in Contra Costa County, 64 mph in Butte County and 73 mph in Sonoma County.
Before restoring service, crews inspected roughly 3,200 miles of de-energized lines and found at least 30 instances of weather-related damage and hazards, the utility said.
“If PG&E had not de-energized power lines, these types of damage could have caused wildfire ignitions,” the utility said.
The utility said it expects to submit a report detailing damages from the severe weather conditions to the California Public Utilities Commission within the next 10 days.
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