San Francisco, CA…National Weather Service has issued a Red Flag Warning (RFW) in parts of 17 counties from Redding to Modesto, beginning at 11 a.m. today through Friday at 8 p.m. RFW conditions mean easier fire starts and potential for rapid fire spread.

CAL FIRE is warning residents in the effected counties including the Sacramento Valley, Northern San Joaquin Valley and foothills, to use caution outdoors and be ready to go in case of a wildfire.

While no Public Safety Power Shutoffs are expected, PG&E is on alert and tracking conditions closely. We also have several wildfire safety efforts underway like hardening our electric system, expanding our network of fire cameras and weather stations, etc.

Situational Awareness

• Hazard Awareness and Warning Center or HAWC monitors wildfire conditions using real-time data
• 1,300 weather stations, or one station very 20 line-miles in high fire-threat areas
• 525 high-definition cameras in high fire-threat areas, building toward our goal of 600 by 2022, giving us the ability to see more than 90% of the high fire-risk area we serve

Enhanced Powerline Safety Settings

• Installing new, advanced safety settings on our powerlines that can automatically turn off power in one-tenth of a second if a wildfire threat is detected.
• Launched as a pilot last year, these advanced settings increase the speed at which safety devices turn off power in response to faults that could result in a fire
• Last year, one the powerlines with the safety settings enabled, we saw an 80% reduction in California Public Utilities Commission-reportable fire ignitions compared to the last three-year average

System Hardening

• Strengthening the electric system with stronger poles and covered powerlines
• Undergrounding 10,000 miles of distribution powerlines in and near high fire-threat areas
• Installing wider cross-arms to increase the separation of powerlines

No PSPS Expected

• We initiate Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS) when the weather forecast is for such severe weather that people’s safety, lives, homes and businesses may be in danger of wildfires.
• As each weather situation is unique, we carefully review a combination of factors when deciding if power must be turned off.
• These factors include:

• Low humidity levels, generally 30% and below.
• A forecast of high winds, particularly sustained winds above 19 miles per hour and wind gusts above 30-40 miles per hour.
• Condition of dry material on the ground and low moisture content of vegetation.
• A Red Flag Warning declared by the National Weather Service.
• Real-time ground observations from our Wildfire Safety Operations Center and from our crews working across the service territory.

• In 2021, our decision-making process evolved to also account for the presence of trees tall enough to strike powerlines when determining if a PSPS is necessary.
• Every wildfire season is different, and the ongoing drought and the conditions will determine the number of times we will need to shut off power, without compromising safety.
• This set of criteria is a first step which may lead to further analysis from our meteorology team to determine if a Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) is necessary.