The US energy company Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E), whose power lines were responsible for the most devastating fire in California’s history, will cut power to about 800,000 consumers to prevent new wildfires, the PG&E website reported 8 October.
PG&E clarifies that it will stop supplying electricity at midnight; the shutdown will cover 34 northern and central counties in California and affect both residents and industrial facilities.
"Given the prolonged period during which the wind event will unfold, and the large number of power line miles that will need to be inspected before restoration, customers are being asked to prepare for an extended outage," PG&E said in a release.
According to PG&E, wind speeds in some areas of the state will range from 17.9 to 31.2 m/s. The bad weather will last at least until the middle of 10 October.
As a result of a terrible fire in northern California in November 2018, according to official figures, at least 85 people were killed. The fire destroyed more than 14,000 homes, at least 520 commercial buildings and more than 4,000 other buildings.