WINTERS, Calif. — Michael Ahumada and his wife Jean Deleonardi had to switch their Saturday plans due to PG&E'S public safety power shutoff.
"We've been catching up on gardening, planting corn, harvesting tomatoes. It forces us to be outside – away from the computer," Ahumada said.
The couple moved to Winters from Southern California six years ago. They're among the 1,600 customers in parts of Yolo, Napa, and Solano counties that had their power shutoff at 6 a.m.
"[We're] going through our normal routine and all of a sudden, the computer just went a little gray, and I didn't realize the power was off. "How do we make coffee?" Ahumada added. "No coffee, no internet."
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Ahumada told ABC10 he went out to buy a generator after learning he may not have electricity for another 1-2 days.
"The main thing was water for the cattle, water for the animals," he said. "This place does not exist without water – it's the most important thing. I ran out, got a generator at 7:30 in the morning. Got it up and running and now we're fine."
Deleonardi says they've spent the last several months preparing for fire season.
"We have to be prepared. We have to have our generators, and we have to access to water, that’s the bottom line," Deleonardi said.
The Huntington Beach native said it took a while to adapt to her new lifestyle in Yolo County, but thanks to the help of her neighbors and her husband, she feels prepared for the hot, dry, and windy weather.
"As soon as the grass starts turning, you have to get your vegetation down around your property," Deleonardi explained. "You have to mow, weed whack,"
As for how they feel about possibly not having power for a few more days, Ahumada, a retired fire chief, says he understands why the utility is taking this measure.
"If it saves lives, if it saves property, and it prevents even just one major fire, then it's all worth it," Ahumada said. "We can all do without electricity for a month if we have to if it saves one life."