PG&E Updates on July Fourth Week Heat Wave

UPDATE - Friday, July 5, 12:45 p.m.

PG&E, The PG&E Corporation Foundation Partner with American Red Cross on Wildfire Preparedness, Response and Recovery 

As fire crews battle wildfires in Northern and Central California this fire season, PG&E and The PG&E Corporation Foundation (PG&E Foundation) are supporting the American Red Cross (Red Cross) to help residents and communities impacted by fires. 

PG&E and PG&E Foundation are continuing their ongoing partnership with the Red Cross, providing $750,000 in charitable support in 2024 for disaster preparedness and emergency response efforts, including providing emergency shelters in PG&E’s service area.  

Currently, PG&E funding is supporting shelter activations for the Basin and Fresno June Lightning Complex Fires in Fresno County, Thompson Fire in Butte County burning near Lake Oroville, and the French Fire in Mariposa County. The shelters already have served nearly 150 individuals.  

Red Cross evacuation shelters currently open: 

• Oroville Church of the Nazarene, 2238 Monte Vista Ave., Oroville 

• Butte County Fairgrounds,199 E. hazel St., Gridley 

• New Life Christian Fellowship, 5089 Cole Rd., Mariposa 

“When natural disasters strike, the Red Cross is there to help individuals and families directly impacted. PG&E and PG&E Foundation are grateful for their disaster preparedness and response work, and the selfless volunteers who give comfort and care to those who are forced to leave their homes to stay safe,” said Mark Quinlan, PG&E Senior Vice President of Wildfire, Emergency and Operations, and Red Cross Board Member, Northern California Coastal Region Bay Area Chapter. 

PG&E and PG&E Foundation have provided charitable support to the Red Cross for more than 10 years for disaster relief, education and outreach. 

In 2023, PG&E and PG&E Foundation contributed more than $5.27 million to emergency preparedness and safety initiatives to 125 local community organizations.  

Funding for charitable donations come from PG&E shareholders, not PG&E customers. 

To learn more about how PG&E and PG&E Foundation are making an impact in your hometown, click on www.pge.com/giving.  

Fire in Mariposa County Leaves Customers without Power 

Fire crews are battling the French Fire in Mariposa County which started on Thursday and has burned more than 800 acres. 

About 3,100 PG&E customers are without power after the company de-energized powerlines at Cal Fire’s request for firefighter safety. 

Once Cal Fire determined it was safe to enter the area, PG&E crews began patrolling for damage to infrastructure and equipment, and will make any necessary repairs before restoring power to customers. 

UPDATE - Wednesday, July 3, 3:35 p.m.

PG&E Holds Media Briefing with Latest Details on Heat Wave Response

This afternoon, PG&E hosted a news briefing from our Emergency Operations Center in Vacaville to provide updates on the company’s response to the prolonged heat wave across Northern and Central California.

EOC Commander Mark Quinlan focused on how crews are pre-positioned to respond to heat-related outages as well as the status of the current Public Safety Power Shutoff event for approximately 2,000 customers.

Scott Strenfel, PG&E’s Meteorologist in Charge, discussed the historic nature of this weather and the forecast for continued heat in the days ahead. Tom Smith, Customer Strategy Officer, outlined ways PG&E is supporting customers through power outages.

Click here or the image below to view the replay.

UPDATE - Monday, July 1, 8:30 p.m.

In Email to Customers, PG&E Says It's Ready for Heat Wave, Urges Customers to Prepare

The following email was sent to PG&E's electric residential and business customers, except those who could be impacted by a potential Public Safety Power Shutoff  this week. The email reminds recipients that PG&E has a plan to prevent and respond to heat-related power outages and that all customers should have a plan for possible outages and to stay safe during the heat.

PG&E has a plan to prevent and respond to heat-related power outages. We encourage you to have a plan for possible outages and above all else, staying safe during the heat.

A major summer heat wave is starting on Tuesday with temperatures reaching above 100 degrees in many parts of Northern and Central California. PG&E is taking steps now to help reduce energy demand on the grid, maintain reliability and keep our communities safe.

PG&E is using outage prediction models to determine the potential timing, location, and number of power outages. This allows us to position crews and personnel in areas with a higher potential for heat-related outages. We have electric restoration crews and troublemen working across our service area, ready to respond and restore power quickly and safely, with additional personnel on standby.

If you are experiencing an outage, visit pge.com/outages for the latest information. 

Prepare for potential outages by having:

• a flashlight
• a crank radio
• fresh batteries
• cell phones and laptops charged

We also recommend:

Staying hydrated, out of direct sunlight and checking on elderly family members or neighbors.

For more information on how to prepare for an emergency, visit PG&E's Safety Action Center.

Find cooling centers

A cooling center is a place where you and your family can go to get a break from the heat and cool down.

Locate a cooling center near you

UPDATE - Monday, July 1, 4:30 p.m.

Week Ahead Forecast to be One of Hottest on Record for Service Area, PG&E Meteorologist Says

In this video, PG&E Lead Meteorologist Scott Strenfel talks about what could be an historic, long-duration heat wave affecting Northern and Central California. The high-pressure system, popularly called a heat dome, will stay over PG&E service area for most of this week.

Watch: https://youtu.be/D5-qnYC6HJk

UPDATE - Monday, July 1, 3 p.m.

PG&E Prepares for Extraordinary High Temperatures and Possible Heat-related Outages

As PG&E staff meteorologists closely track the weather, the company is reaching out to customers with resources to stay safe and cool.

With the Fourth of July holiday just days away, PG&E meteorologists are monitoring weather models that forecast a heat wave that will affect millions of Californians. Above-average temperatures are expected to begin on Tuesday and Wednesday and last through the July 4 holiday and weekend. In preparation for the heat event, PG&E has activated its Emergency Operations Center and all regional and local emergency centers; additionally, it is asking customers to have a plan for possible power outages and to take steps to stay safe during the long and brutal heat wave.

According to PG&E’s in-house meteorologists, who are tracking this week’s heat event from PG&E’s Emergency Operations Center, a strong high-pressure system will begin building today, resulting in triple-digit heat mid-week across the interior valleys, especially the Sacramento Valley, as the week continues. Along the coast, the marine layer will weaken, driving temperatures into the mid-90s and low 100s in coastal valleys and 80s in the Bay.  

“Widespread heat waves such as the one forecast for the July 4 week mean all hands on deck for PG&E. You will see crews and PG&E trucks throughout your hometown if the heat affects our equipment, and we’ll be working around the clock to restore customers safely and as quickly as possible,” said Rod Robinson, Vice President of Electric System Operations.

Our outage prediction models help determine potential timing, location and number of heat-related power outages to assign troubleworkers (PG&E first responders), crews and other resources to areas that need support. PG&E has pre-positioned crews and equipment, such as transformers, expected to be affected by heat-related outages and will mobilize equipment to other areas, as needed, based on real-time impacts.

During extended periods of high temperatures, energy use increases and electric grid equipment gets hotter. Equipment such as transformers need time to cool down during a heat wave. This usually happens overnight when temperatures and energy usage drop. Heat events with high overnight temperatures can put additional stress on equipment and cause heat-related outages.

“We are closely monitoring areas where abnormally high heat is forecasted and demand on the grid will be elevated, such as the Santa Clara Valley and other interior Bay valleys. This is in addition to the entire Central Valley where temperatures are projected to be the hottest,” said Scott Strenfel, Senior Director of Meteorology and Fire Science at PG&E. 

Potential Targeted Public Safety Power Shutoff

PG&E Meteorology is also monitoring the potential for breezy to locally gusty winds from Monday night through Wednesday morning, peaking on Tuesday. While a strong wind event is not currently expected, wind gusts could reach up to 40 mph in the Northern and Western Sacramento Valley and adjacent foothills. This, combined with high temperatures and low humidity, has increased the wildfire risk.

As a result, PG&E has informed approximately 12,000 customers that we may need to proactively turn off their power for safety starting on Tuesday morning. The customers potentially affected by the PSPS event are in targeted portions of the following ten counties: Shasta, Tehama, Glenn, Colusa, Lake, Yolo, Napa, Sonoma, Butte and Solano. A PSPS is a safety precaution of last resort to reduce the risk of wildfires during the forecasted high wind event.

Customers have been notified via text, email and automated phone calls prior to potential shutoffs. If customers enrolled in PG&E’s Medical Baseline Program do not verify that they have received these important safety communications, PG&E employees will conduct individual, in-person visits, when possible, with a primary focus on customers who rely on electricity for critical life-sustaining equipment.   

Customers can look up their address online to find out if their location is being monitored for the potential safety shutoff at pge.com/pspsupdates. 

Support for PG&E customers

We understand that being without power is difficult for our customers — especially in areas impacted by the heat wave. Numerous Community Resource Centers (CRC) will be available within the affected counties. To accommodate the heat, CRCs will be receiving additional ice to provide for customers. Additionally, each center offers ADA-accessible restrooms, device charging, Wi-Fi, blankets, air conditioning and bottled water, snacks and other supplies. Customers can find a CRC near them by visiting www.pge.com/crc.

If called, this would be the first PSPS event of 2024.

In case of heat-related outages, PG&E offers the following safety tips:

• Use battery-operated flashlights, and not candles, due to the risk of fire.
• Customers with generators should make sure they are properly installed by a licensed electrician in a well-ventilated area.
• 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.
• Customers can get updates on outages in their neighborhood through a variety of channels.
• Contact PG&E's outage information line at 1-800-743-5002
• Access the Electric Outage Map online at  online outage center
• Customers can also log-in to their account through pge.com and sign up to receive proactive outage alerts through email, text or phone

PG&E reminds customers to update their contact information at www.pge.com/mywildfirealerts.