San Andreas, CA….Yesterday evening, Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) notified the Calaveras County Office of Emergency Services of a possible Public Safety Power Shutdown (PSPS) event that would affect portions of Calaveras County. This morning, Calaveras County OES participated in a conference call with PG&E, and confirmed that a PSPS is likely to affect Calaveras County sometime Wednesday morning, October 9, 2019. This situation is evolving, and further information will follow as it is developed. We expect to have an update by this evening that will include affected area maps, and resiliency center location(s).

PG&E’s outages may occur in response to localized weather conditions and may not be fully known until the day of the event. The decision to turn off the power and the speed at which it is restored is planned and managed solely by PG&E. Citizens are strongly urged to prepare for being without power for several days. PG&E will attempt to notify customers of PSPS outages through calls, texts, and emails using the contact information that PG&E has on file. Be sure your contact information is up-to-date with PG&E at pge.com/mywildfirealerts.

Calaveras County is preparing to minimize potential negative impacts of any PSPS events. It is the goal of Calaveras County to continue to provide critical county services during any PSPS event. Residents may experience short interruptions in some non-essential County services during a PSPS event.

Calaveras County would like to remind our community that it is important to be prepared and have a plan. Prepare for outages that may occur at any time and may last several days. Visit http://psps.calaverasgov.us/ for detailed information about preparing for power outages.

PREPARATION TIPS FOR EXTENDED OUTAGES

During a power outage, conserve water. Minimize water usage to only critical health and safety needs. Uninterrupted power is required to operate water and sewer treatment plants along with the water distribution and sewer collection system 24/7. Importantly, all County residents must be prepared to respond to the call for water conservation efforts.

• Keep vehicles fueled in preparation for extended outages. Gas station pumps will not work during power outages.

• Plan for medical needs such as medications that may require refrigeration or devices that need power.

• Identify backup charging methods for phones and keep hard copies of emergency numbers.

• Build or restock your emergency kit with food, water, necessary medication, flashlights, fresh batteries, first aid supplies, and cash. Enough supplies for one week. Remember that retail stores (grocery, pharmacy, etc.) and restaurants may be closed during prolonged outages.

• Sign up for safety information on Nixle at nixle.com or by texting your zip code to Nixle at 888777

• Make sure you can receive updated information from PG&E by updating your contact information at pge.com/mywildfirealerts.

PG&E RESOURCES

Go to pge.com for:

• Public Safety Power Shutoff Program

• Wildfire Safety

• Sign up for PG&E Wildfire Alerts

• Emergency Preparedness Kit

• Prepare for a Power Outage

• Public Safety Power Shutoff Fact Sheet

• PG&E Public Safety Power Shutoff Policies and Procedures

ADDITIONAL PREPAREDNESS RESOURCES

• ready.gov – Disaster preparedness information from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security

• readyforwildfire.org – CAL FIRE’s wildfire preparedness website

• cpuc.ca.gov/wildfiresinfo – Information on the CPUC’s wildfire safety efforts

• caloes.ca.gov – California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services website

• cafiresafecouncil.org – California Fire Safe Council website

Social Media:

www.facebook.com/CalaverasOES/

www.twitter.com/CalaverasOES

https://nextdoor.com/agency/calaveras-county-office-of-emergency-services