RED BLUFF — Pacific Gas and Electric Co. shut off power early Wednesday to large swaths of Tehama County and Northern California due to the dry, windy weather.
The shutoff is part of the Public Safety Power Shutoff program, aimed at preventing fires during extreme weather conditions. PG&E began notifying customers Monday of the possibility of a shutoff.
All of Red Bluff, Dairyville and Los Molinos were without power Wednesday morning, shuttering nearly all businesses. The power remained on in much of Corning.
PG&E began shutting off power early Wednesday morning said Paul Moreno, north valley marketing and communications principal. Tehama County areas that lost power include Red Bluff, Los Molinos, Gerber, Corning, Mineral, Paynes Creek, Manton, Vina, Tehama, Mill Creek, Paskenta, Proberta and Flournoy.
The utility company estimated nearly 1,500 medical baseline customers impacted due to the shutoff.
Once weather conditions have passed, which is expected to be Thursday afternoon, PG&E will begin patrols of power lines and look for and fix any damage before restoring power, Moreno said. Power will be restored in steps, meaning as crews complete patrols they will restore power.
The city of Red Bluff issued a notice to water customers to conserve water due to the power shutoff. All outdoor water use, such as watering landscaping or washing vehicles, is prohibited by the notice. Users should limit water use to personal hygiene, cooking and drinking.
Red Bluff Police Department Sgt. Ruben Murgia said water conservation is among the significant impacts due to the shutoff. The city only had one of its 13 wells operating Wednesday.
“We will be limited (in water during the outage) so we are stressing that people try to conserve water as much as possible,” Murgia said.
Murgia said there had been no major accidents or weather related incidents involving trees or limbs coming down in the first hours of the outage. He urged the public to remain alert while the power is out and portable stop signs are up in place of the traffic lights.
The PG&E website for information about the shutoff was intermittently down Wednesday due to volume of users.
Health care
St. Elizabeth Community Hospital continues to respond to the medical needs of the community during the current power outage, said Allison Hendrickson, manager of Media Relations for Dignity Health North State.
“When the power went out early this morning, one of our five emergency generators didn’t operate as expected and staff handled the situation as they are trained,” Hendrickson said. “We have contingency plans in place to accommodate for any breakdown in technology, communications or, in this case, equipment.”
The generator was quickly repaired and brought online, Hendrickson said. Patient safety was never compromised.
“Even though we test our generators every month, as with any disaster, there are always unforeseen circumstances that force us to respond appropriately,” Hendrickson said. “Incidences like this morning are exactly why we train and test our staff and equipment.”
The hospital is asking patients to follow up with their health providers with questions and encourages anyone to be proactive in their care and only use the emergency room in life-threatening situations.
Lassen Medical Clinic in Red Bluff, Women’s Health Services and The Wound Care Center are without power and were closed Wednesday, Hendrickson said.
Schools
All Red Bluff schools were closed Wednesday and will reopen when power is restored. Corning High School Superintendent Jared Caylor sent a tweet Tuesday saying the campus would be unaffected by the shutoff.
The Shasta College main Redding Campus, Tehama, Trinity, Intermountain and the Downtown Health Science and University Center campuses, including online courses, are closed to all students and employees Wednesday and Thursday, according to a press release issued Tuesday afternoon. All non-instructional events for Wednesday through Saturday have been canceled.
For information regarding Shasta College status, call 242-7910.
City services
Red Bluff city staff had a meeting Tuesday to prepare for the potential shutdown, said City Manager Richard Crabtree.
The police, fire and public works departments have all increased staffing levels in anticipation of the outage, Crabtree said. The city strategically staged traffic control signs for use at key intersections.
The water conservation notice was issued Wednesday morning. Some city pumps have generator power and the city is maintaining water storage tanks at full capacity. The sewer treatment plant can operate on generator power.
Courts
Tehama County Superior Court is closed until further notice due to the shutoff.
Those having court dates during the closure should contact their attorneys for more information. Information will be updated at www.tehamacourt.ca.gov. Any temporary orders, protective orders and restraining orders expiring during the closure are extended until the next court day.
In the region
Much of Chico had power Wednesday and Redding Electric Utility customers were not impacted by the shutoff.
Closure of the northbound lanes of Insterstate 5 between Anderson and Redding from midnight to 5 a.m. for construction will continue as planned. Motorists are encouraged to detour through Anderson.
Brandy Creek Beach at Whiskeytown National Recreation Area was closed Wednesday due to the shutoff.
For more information about the PG&E shut down, call 1-800-743-5000 or visit https://www.pge.com.