Update: 4600 customers without power in Mendo, PGE issues statement

UPDATE:

Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) has released a statement and new figures on the number of people affected by power outages today. First the numbers:

Here is the text of the press release:

The safety of our customers, employees and communities we serve is our top priority.  There are currently 145 outages affecting 7,327 customers in PG&E’s Humboldt Division (which includes Humboldt, Mendocino and Lake Counties).  See table below for Mendocino outages.  There are approximately 4600 customers without power in Mendocino County as of 4:00 pm.  These outages are caused by trees falling on power lines and tree limbs or branches coming into contact with power lines. As you can see the biggest outages are in Albion, Fort Bragg and Mendocino. In a few instances, where outages happened on Monday or accessibility due to flooding or road closures is an issue, restoration might take a little longer.

There was a wire down in Ukiah on South Highway 101 that was impacting 388 customers in Hopland and Ukiah and they have now been restored..

Crews are working safely and quickly as possible to restore power where:

• There is a wire down on Comptche Road in Mendoconio affecting 1974 customers  in Mendocino, Fort Bragg, Little River and Caspar.
• A tree fell into a line near Briceland Thorn Rd in Redway impacting 403 customers in Honeydew, Whitehorn and Garberville.
• A tree fell into a line near Drive Thru Tree Rd. in Leggett impacting 377 customers in Leggett, Cummings and Westport.

We have more than double the number of crews across the Humboldt Division working to restore power safely and quickly as possible.   Plus additional crews  in Garberville and Fort Bragg, where we have a base camp.

We’ve been preparing for this storm. PG&E has a plan, and we’re executing that plan to restore power safely and quickly as possible.  This includes the use of storm outage prediction models that help us determine the potential timing, location and number of power outages. PG&E is utilizing the latest technology to help us restore power more quickly and efficiently after a storm. This includes the installation of automated equipment that “self-heals” the grid as well as timely and accurate outage data from our SmartMeter network. PG&E has extra crews and resources on alert and ready to respond to outages as soon as they occur. The local emergency center for PG&E’s Humboldt Division have been activated to respond to this storm. PG&E routinely practices its preparedness and response to storms and other emergencies through company exercises and through drills with local first responders and we want our customers to prepare for storms like this as well.

• Treat all low hanging and downed power lines as if they are energized and extremely dangerous. Keep yourself and others away from them. Be aware of trees, pools of water and other objects that may be in contact with power lines. If you see damaged power lines and electric equipment, call 911, and then notify PG&E at 1-800-743-5002.
• During an outage, use battery-operated flashlights, and not candles, due to the risk of fire. If you must use candles, keep them away from drapes, lampshades, holiday trees and small children. Do not leave candles unattended.
• If your power goes out, unplug or turn off all electric appliances to avoid overloading circuits and fire hazards when power is restored. Simply leave a single lamp on to alert you when power returns. Turn your appliances back on one at a time when conditions return to normal.
• Customers can get updates on outages in their neighborhood through a variety of channels.
• Contact our outage information line at 1-800-743-5002
• Access our Electric Outage Map online at pge.com
• Customers can also log-in to their account through pge.com and sign up to receive proactive outage alerts through email, text or phone
• If you have a telephone system that requires electricity to work, such as a cordless phone or answering machine, plan to have a standard telephone or cellular phone ready as a backup.
• Have fresh drinking water, freeze plastic containers filled with water to make blocks of ice that can be placed in your refrigerator/freezer during an outage to prevent foods from spoiling. Blue Ice from your picnic cooler also works well in the freezer.
• Secure outdoor furniture, lightweight yard structures and decorative lawn items that can be blown by high winds to prevent them from damaging overhead power lines and property.
• If you have a stand-by generator, make sure that it’s installed safely and inform PG&E to avoid risking damage to your property and endangering PG&E workers. Information on the safe installation of generators can be found on our website at www.pge.com/generator.

ORIGINAL:

MENDOCINO Co., 1/9/17 — Power lines are out around the county, as of early Monday afternoon. Here they are, in order of largest number:

Mendocino: 7 outages affecting 2395 customers

Fort Bragg: 43 outages affecting 784 customers

Elk: 2 outages affecting 433 customers

Hopland: i outage affecting 388 customers

Laytonville: 1 outage affecting 26 customers

Leggett: 2 outages affecting 382 customers

Little River: 3 outages affecting 82 customers

Philo: 6 outages affecting 59 customers

Westport: 3 outages affecting 53 customers

Boonville: 2 outages affecting 27 customers

Point Arena: 5 outages affecting 17 customers

Gualala: 3 outages affecting 12 customers

Willits: 1 outage affecting 1 customer

AT&T is providing emergency phones to some of those affected by the storm. Here is a list and details about how to get emergency AT&T phones, list courtesy of sheriff’s Facebook page.

Check out today’s road conditions here.