Energy company PG & E has confirmed that it will turn off power for 800,000 California residents on Wednesday night. As the weather becomes dry and windy the company wants to ensure that wildfires do not occur. Important to note, areas impacted by the power shut off are northern, central and coastal cities in the northern part of the state.

Currently, a fire watch is in effect. Power to the affected counties will be turned off in stages starting Wednesday after midnight. It’s likely that power will remain off until Thursday. However, Michael Lewis, Vice President of the company’s electric operation, said it could take days for power to be fully restored.

Affected Areas

Some residents in these areas have already expressed frustration with the fact that they will be without power. PG & E has not made any statements regarding the inconvenience of not having power and residents having food in refrigerators and freezers that may spoil.

Counties that will lose power are: Alameda, Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Colusa, Contra Costa, El Dorado, Glenn, Humboldt, Lake, Kern, Marin, Mariposa, Mendocino, Napa, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, San Joaquin, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Shasta, Sierra, Solano, Sonoma, Stanislaus, Tehama, Tuolumne, Trinity, Yolo and Yuba counties, according to PG & E.

It is recommended that these counties also have supplies prepped in case the power does go out or a wildfire occurs. We encourage residents of these counties to stock up on non-perishable food supplies and water. It is also a good idea to have charged backup power sources, flashlights, or camping lanterns handy.