GRASS VALLEY, Calif. — Update:
Pacific Gas and Electric [PG&E] reports about 60,450 customers are still without power as storms move through the Northern California area.
PG&E said in an update Tuesday morning that the customers impacted are in El Dorado, Nevada, Placer and Sierra counties.
"This storm hit PG&E’s Sierra Division hard and this is an all hands on deck situation," PG&E said in a press release.
They add they have brought in crews from other areas to help restore power.
Resources
- To find out if your address is included in these outages, visit: pgealerts.alerts.pge.com/outagecenter
- To report an outage, visit: pgealerts.alerts.pge.com/outagecenter/report
Original Story:
Thousands of Pacific Gas and Electric [PG&E] customers are without power in the Sierra Monday.
Megan McFarland, a spokesperson for PG&E, told ABC10 about 69,000 customers are without power in the Sierra Division, which includes El Dorado, Nevada, Placer and Sierra Counties. By 10 p.m., not much has changed, but power is back on in downtown Placerville.
"This is an all-hands-on-deck situation for PG&E. We are bringing in crews from other areas and working closely with first responders including Cal Trans to gain access," McFarland wrote in an email.
PG&E's outage map shows power outages along I-80 in parts of Applegate and Colfax all the way up to Nevada City. Additional outages are affecting customers near Highway 50 near Placerville
Caltrans was forced to close US-50 just east of Placerville for 2 days. It re-opening Monday night. Crystal Perkins has been stuck in Pollock Pines, trying to get back home to Reno since visiting her family in Grass Valley.
“It’s been kind of crazy because it’s just so it’s snowing like every other day it’s just another story you don’t know like is it gonna snow a little or a lot,” Perkins said.
While she and her husband can’t wait to leave, Hans Schneider has been hunkered down and without power at his Pollock Pines home. He was glad to finally get a generator.
“It’ll get my how water heater going, it’ll get my refrigerator going, a couple lights,” he said.
The Bay Area native has lived in Pollock Pines 16 years and says this is one of the biggest storms he can remember.
Tens of thousands remain without power in the Sierra as PG&E calls in crews from other areas to restore it.
"We want to remind customers that if they see a downed power line, assume it's energized. Stay away from it, call 911, and then call PG&E so we can come out and make the area safe," McFarland said.
However, if your vehicle is to come in contact with a downed power line, PG&E advises customers to stay inside their car, sound their horn, and call 911 as the ground around the vehicle may be energized.
"Access is a major challenge as some of the roads still need to be cleared," McFarland wrote. "Right now, we are in the assessment phase, getting access to all the outages, seeing what has gone wrong and what kind of fixes are needed."
The estimated duration of the power outages remains unknown.
"Until we can get access and make assessments, we don't know the estimated time of restoration," McFarland said. "It really depends on the extent of the damage and the length of our repairs."
Resources
- To find out if your address is included in these outages, visit: pgealerts.alerts.pge.com/outagecenter
- To report an outage, visit: pgealerts.alerts.pge.com/outagecenter/report
According to the map, PG&E crews are investigating the cause of the outage, but many of the areas do not give an estimated time that power will be restored.
RELATED: Sacramento Weather Forecast
PG&E said in a news release on Sunday, Dec. 26 that snow accumulation could lead to increased power outages in certain areas.
View PG&E's outage map for the latest updates.
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