Paradise and Oroville in the dark as PG&E shuts off power in some Sierra foothill areas
Amid worries of strong winds creating dangerous fire conditions overnight, PG&E began deliberately shutting off power Saturday to communities in the Sierra Nevada foothills. The utility said that at least 16,000 customers would be without electricity through the night.
At 9:15 p.m., the utility reported on its website that its second round of engineered outages began in Butte and Yuba counties, including towns hardest hit by the 2018 Camp Fire: fire-ravaged Paradise and Magalia, where a few thousand people have moved back home in recent months.
In a statement, PG&E said it was de-energizing lines in response to the wave of dry and windy weather conditions across Northern California, which prompted Red Flag Warnings from Redding to Los Banos through late Sunday. Other areas in the dark included Oroville and Loma Rica.
Power remained on in larger communities such as Chico, Marysville and Grass Valley, according to Bee journalists in those areas. A spokeswoman for the company said “changing weather conditions” are allowing officials to take a wait-and-see approach for homes in Nevada, Placer and El Dorado counties.
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