Warmer winds from the Great Basin — often called Diablo winds — are now the primary concern for meteorologists as most of Northern California falls under a National Weather Service red flag warning beginning at 11 p.m. Thursday and lasting through 5 p.m. Saturday.

Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) is considering implementing a Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) in parts of Santa Barbara County as a precautionary measure to prevent wildfires, with the shutoff possibly commencing as early as 7:00 AM on October 18,

The wind event is slated to start around noon on Thursday and may last until midday Saturday. The duration and extent of power outages will depend on the weather in each area, and not all customers will be affected for the entire period. These planned power shutoffs are utilized to help reduce the risk of wildfires.

PG&E staff will be actively monitoring weather conditions for 30 California counties later this week for possible PSPS power shutoffs.

PG&E, California’s largest utility provider, has warned upwards of around 32,000 customers in northern and central parts of the Golden State that they could see their power shut off in an effort to reduce the wildfire risk from energized equipment and power lines.

As many as 28,000 customers could be affected through the weekend, PG&E said in a statement Tuesday night after activating its PSPS advisory page. “Given the forecasted strong winds and current dry vegetation conditions,

The utility announced that it may cut power in dozens of California counties due to expected fire weather later this week

With an elevated fire risk warning taking effect across Northern California starting this Thursday, Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) has announced that public safety power shutoffs (PSPS) are likely for dozens of California counties.