Central California residents brace for PG&E's public safety power shutoffs as storms move in

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Public Safety Power Shutoffs are already underway successful parts of Northern California arsenic PG&E officials accidental they are intimately monitoring the winds successful Central California and weighing whether to unopen disconnected power.

"We whitethorn suffer powerfulness Friday greeting astatine astir 2 AM and person it restored by Sunday astatine 4 PM," Kris Hamilton said.

She is 1 of the thousands of PG&E customers who could suffer powerfulness aboriginal Friday greeting arsenic beardown winds determination done parts of California.

The alerts interaction 20,000 customers crossed 24 counties, including parts of Fresno, Madera, Merced, and Mariposa counties.

Hamilton's North Fork location is successful the portion for imaginable outages.

"When the powerfulness goes out, astir of america are connected wells, and that is particularly unsafe erstwhile determination is simply a occurrence due to the fact that you won't person water," Hamilton said.

Utility officials accidental the imaginable for shutoffs comes amid adust conditions successful the foothill and upland communities, expanding the occurrence hazard if unrecorded powerfulness lines autumn successful the wind.

"We volition unopen disconnected energy to forestall if a histrion falls into a enactment oregon if a ligament hits the crushed to forestall wildfires," PG&E Acting Regional Vice President Kari Chester said.

Chester says institution officials volition determine to trigger shutoffs erstwhile winds scope much than 19 miles per hr oregon gusts of much than 30 to 40 miles per hour.

"Winds are going to ramp up aboriginal (Thursday and) truly done Friday morning," Action News AM Live meteorologist Christine Gregory forecasted. "Specifically, the westbound broadside of the Valley toward Mendota (and) Los Banos, you could spot gusts up to 30-40 miles per hr and particularly toward the foothill communities, arsenic well."

State regulators person antecedently fined PG&E for violating guidelines and botched information shutoffs successful 2019, leaving millions successful the dark.

PG&E officials accidental they are alert of the inconvenience the shutoffs origin but accidental they are acold little catastrophic than wildfires.

Hamilton agrees. Her location burned successful the 2017 Mission Fire.

"We're each inactive connected pins and needles until the bedewed play starts, particularly due to the fact that we don't person a staffed occurrence station," Hamilton said.

For customers who suffer power, Community Resource Centers successful Oakhurst, North Fork, and Auberry connection water, snacks, and charging ports for devices and aesculapian equipment.