Pacific Gas & Electric this week pulled the plug on more homes across San Joaquin County than was expected as high winds lash the region. The outages could last well into the weekend.
As of Friday morning, the giant utility’s map showed that precautionary power shutoffs have occurred in broad swaths of western San Joaquin County. The outages were especially focused around Tracy, Manteca and Lathrop.
PG&E’s predictions of when it would restore power varied by area. In the more affected communities, the utility said it probably not restore electricity until noon Saturday. The action was taken out of fear that high winds could down power lines, sparking a fire that could endanger hundreds of homes.
“Due to high winds and dry conditions, power in your area has been turned off to help prevent a wildfire. Once weather has improved, we will begin inspecting power lines and equipment for possible damage. Power will be restored as soon as it is safe to do so,” a message on PG&E’s website reads.
Winds in the area are higher than what had been forecast a couple of days ago. The National Weather Service said Stockton can expect gusts up to 30 mph Friday and up to 33 mph Friday night. The same prediction holds through all of Saturday, before winds start to taper off on Sunday.
PG&E has opened two sites in San Joaquin County offering “grab and go bags” for residents affected by the power outages. The bags, which are being offered for free, contain water, snacks, blankets, flashlights and portable phone chargers.
Distribution sites are at Larch Clover Community Center at 11157 W. Larch Road in Tracy and the Mountain House Fire Station 16-1 at 911 Tradition St. in Mountain House.
To view a full list of PG&E Community Resource Centers, go to www.pge.com/crc.