In an effort to prevent wildfires from the upcoming windy weather, PG&E has began shutting power off in Northern California. This power cut-off is reported to affect more than 800,000 customers. PG&E is beginning to shut off power in counties by phases, beginning with phase one, which was completed at 4 A.M. this morning. The counties affected are listed in PG&E’s tweet embedded below. Additional counties that will be affected by the shutoff later this afternoon and into the evening are shown below in another tweet. 

#PSPS: Additional proactive shutoffs for safety will begin later this afternoon and into early evening in portions of these counties (see table). This phase of the safety shutoff also includes some parts of Mendocino and Calaveras not turned off this morning. pic.twitter.com/DMFltsMoEZ

— Pacific Gas & Electric (@PGE4Me) October 9, 2019

#PSPS: Early this morning, PG&E turned off power for safety to counties in phase one (approx. 500k customers). That phase is complete. If you still have power IN THESE COUNTIES (see graphic) you will not lose power due to a PSPS. pic.twitter.com/mzlVmdTXhk

— Pacific Gas & Electric (@PGE4Me) October 9, 2019

Ms. A, Lincoln High School’s art teacher, lives in an area that may be affected by the power outage. “I’ve mostly been receiving my information via social media and maps,” Ms. A says, “PG&E’s website has already crashed several times today. This just proves a point that social media is extremely crucial to disseminating information when large companies can’t spread it fast enough.” 

San José Unified has sent out an email, providing further information: “PG&E has confirmed that Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS) will begin in counties throughout California tonight. Based on the information we have from PG&E, four San Jose Unified schools will have their power shutoff. At this time, those four schools are Williams Elementary, Graystone Elementary, Bret Harte Middle, and Leland High.” For more information and resources, Community Resource Centers are open throughout California. PG&E has opened a Community Resource Center at Avaya Stadium on 1123 Coleman Avenue. Resources they will be providing include: restrooms, bottled water, and electronic-device charging. For more information on the power outage, please visit: https://projects.sfchronicle.com/trackers/power-outages/

UPDATE: 

By Thursday, October 10, 2019, PG&E has completed its second phase in the power shutdown, with 600,000 customers affected. PG&E’s power shutdown, which has affected 22 counties in Northern California, is also beginning to restore power to some areas, but not all. According to CNN, at 6 A.M., October 10, 2019, an estimated 120,000 customers had their power restored; however, PG&E will not be restoring power for Bay Area residents, since the weather conditions are still unstable. Thousands of companies and homes in the city of San Jose are still without power. 

Joshua Walker, a senior at Lincoln High School who lives in East San Jose, says that his power went off on October 9, 2019 in the evening, around 11:30 P.M. “For me, personally, it’s been hard to keep my laptop fully charged, in order to do my homework,” Joshua says, “It’s definitely a challenge, and  I hope the power comes back on soon. For my family, we’re all really concerned about our food spoiling in the refrigerator.” 

Fortunately, the power came back on for Joshua’s family on Thursday at approximately 10 P.M. We are hopeful that everyone in San Jose stayed safe during the power outage and that everyone will be more prepared with something like this happens again.