PG&E is currently monitoring a weather event projected to arrive late Saturday, October 26th and continue through Monday, October 28th. A large portion of the North Bay including Sonoma County is currently under a Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) “Elevated” warning status for this developing weather event.
This status could change as weather forecasts evolve, however, the messaging from PG&E and National Weather Service suggests that they are expecting severe wind and dry conditions that would (a) create a significant fire danger and (b) almost certainly prompts a PSPS.
Although Sonoma Valley residents & businesses have endured recent PSPS events, this would be our first weekend event and potentially the largest geographic impact area, both of which could create additional challenges and complications compared to previous PSPS events.
The City, public safety agencies and local organizations have been working and preparing to ensure that they are ready to support our community. However, if this PSPS event materializes at or near the scale that is currently projected it is likely to cause numerous hardships for residents and businesses of all kinds.
We are encouraging all members of our community to develop plans to prepare for a larger power outage that could last through the weekend and into the early part of next week.
We hope to have more specific information from PG&E regarding this upcoming event on Friday and will share information as we receive it. Please see the following resources for more information that can assist with planning and preparedness:
PG&E links for current information:
City and County pages for local information regarding power outages:
https://www.sonomacity.org/extended-power-outages/
https://socoemergency.org/home/prepare/power-outages/
