UPDATE: Fire Weather Watch Issued for North and East Bay Hills Tuesday; Public Safety Power Shutoffs Possible
SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) -- The Bay Area office of the National Weather Service issued a Fire Weather Watch for the North and East Bay starting Tuesday evening due to forecast high winds that could also prompt public safety power shutoffs by PG&E.
The watch has been issued for the North Bay Interior Mountains and East Bay Hills above 1000 feet. Gusty dry winds are forecast out of the north and northeast starting Tuesday evening through Wednesday morning.
A Fire Weather Watch has been issued for the North Bay Interior Mountains and East Bay Hills above 1000 ft due to gusty dry N/NE winds Tues pm to Weds am. Greatest threat over NE hills of Napa County. Low risk for coastal Sonoma/Marin & Santa Clara Mountains.#CAwx #CAfire pic.twitter.com/PrNyMd5oMq
— NWS Bay Area ???? (@NWSBayArea) August 16, 2021
The most significant fire threat is projected to be in the northeast hills of Napa County. Weather officials said there was minimal risk for coastal Sonoma and Marin counties and the Santa Clara Mountains.
PG&E officials said late Sunday the utility may have to proactively turn off power in small portions of 16 counties on Tuesday night due to potential dry offshore winds forecasted.
Because of the forecasted wind combined with drought conditions and extremely dry vegetation increases the risk for wildfire, PG&E has issued 48-hour advance notifications to customers in the targeted areas where power may be turned off.
About 39,000 customers in small areas within 16 counties could be affected, but the majority of residents that will be affected -- about 27,000 -- are located in Butte and Shasta counties. The rest are in Humboldt, Tehama, Glenn, Trinity, Lake, Lassen, Sierra, Plumas, Yolo, Yuba, Mendocino, Napa, Solano, and Sonoma counties, PG&E said.
PG&E meteorologists are continuing to monitor weather conditions from the utility's Emergency Operations Center in San Francisco and will provide updates as they become available.
PG&E is contacting affected customers via text messages, emails and phone calls. More information about the potential power shutoffs can be found at www.pge.com/pspsupdates.
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