California.
Isn't that like unloading your gun because it might go off and scare someone?
PG&E Corp. PCG 1.10% has begun to shut off power to hundreds of thousands of people in California as it seeks to prevent its electric lines from sparking more deadly wildfires, in what is believed to be the largest such pre-emptive blackout ever.
The outages are poised to hit areas across the northern and central parts of the state, including the famous wine country region, the rural Sierra Nevada foothills and portions of Oakland and San Jose. The utility is implementing the shut-offs as strong, dry winds are expected to hit the region, increasing the risk that its equipment could start fires.
PG&E said early Wednesday the shut-offs will occur in three phases, the first of which began affecting about 513,000 customers from around midnight local time. These outages will be spread across 22 counties, the utility said, including Napa, Mendocino and Sonoma in the wine country region.
The second phase is set to occur around noon Wednesday, turning off service to approximately 234,000 customers in seven additional counties, PG&E said. These include Alameda, home to Oakland and Berkeley, and Santa Clara, whose largest city is San Jose.
A third phase is being considered for the southernmost portions of PG&E’s service area, affecting approximately 42,000 customers, the company said. Specific locations were still to be determined, it said.
