Public Safety Power Shutoff started for 159 customers near Twitchell Reservoir Thursday

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. – Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) announced Friday that Public Safety Power Shutoffs have begun for 159 customers southeast of Twitchell Reservoir and east of the Santa Maria River.

The shutoffs went into effect at 8:18 a.m. due to high winds and dry conditions in the area explained PG&E in a press release Friday.

According to PG&E, a Community Resource Center has been opened at the Santa Maria Elks Lodge at 1309 North Bradley Road for customers without power. The center will remain open until 10 p.m. Friday.

Resources available at the Elks Lodge include water, snacks, an ADA-accessible bathroom and washing station, device and small medical tool charging station, and Wi-Fi shared PG&E.

The utility company previously included 128 customers in San Luis Obispo County and 106 customers in Santa Barbara County that have now been removed from the power shutoffs intended to prevent wildfires during adverse weather conditions detailed PG&E in a press release about the changes.

A combination factors play a role in when PG&E determines a Public Safety Power Shutoff is necessary including:

• Low humidity levels, generally below 30 percent
• Forecasted high winds, particularly sustained winds above 19 miles per hour and wind gusts above 30 to 40 miles per hour
• Conditions on the ground such as dry materials and low moisture content in area vegetation
• Presence of trees tall enough to contact powerlines

How can I find out more information?

You can always check PG&E's Outage Map which shows active planned and unplanned outages on an interactive map that you can click on for the status of the response.

PG&E will also update their Currents blog with the latest Public Safety Power Shutoff information.

Customers can sign up for wildfire notifications here or by calling 1-800-743-5000 and tenants and non-account holders can sign up to receive Public Safety Power Shutoff Alerts based on their ZIP code here .

The United States Postal Service has a handy tool to look up ZIP codes here .

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