Once again, PG&E did not initially include all of Humboldt in its outage prediction. But according to OES, all of Humboldt County will be affected.
Due to possible extreme weather conditions and fire risk, all of Humboldt County is expected to lose power when Pacific Gas and Electric implements a Public Safety Power Shutoff early Saturday afternoon.
“The latest information from PG&E is that all of Humboldt County is now in scope for this PSPS power outage,” a Humboldt County Office of Emergency Services Facebook post said on Thursday evening.
PG&E began notifying specific customers of the possible outage on Thursday evening and will continue to do so. The utility also told OES that their online address look-up tool wasn’t up to date as of Thursday night, but will be updated soon.
According to a post from the Humboldt County Government’s website, the outage is expected to last longer than the previous, which was only 28-hours, and residents should prepare to be without electricity for up to four days. The county also said the length of the outage and estimated time power could return is completely up to PG&E.
OES also made a post with nine tips for preparing for the outage. The list is copied below.
Are you prepared in the event the PSPS affects Humboldt County? There is still time to gather supplies and take steps to be ready if the power shuts off.
Here are some tips to help you get prepared.
1. Have food for 2-3 days on hand that doesn’t require refrigeration and can be cooked on a camp stove or outdoor grill. Remember though, never use a camp stove indoors.
2. Have 1 gallon of water, per day, per person for drinking and cleaning.
3. Have flashlights, battery operated lanterns or candles in a convenient location. Remember, if you are using candles, never leave them unattended, within reach of children, and keep them away from flammable items.
4. Keep your refrigerated items cold by freezing water bottles. When the power goes out, transfer the frozen bottles around items in your fridge to help keep them cold. You can also transfer items to the freezer once the power is out to keep them cold. Remember to only open your fridge when absolutely necessary and make it quick. Don’t open your fridge to check to see if it’s cold.
5. If you are getting close to needing a refill on prescriptions, do it soon.
6. Fuel up your vehicle.
7. Have cash on hand. When we lose power retailers may lose the ability to run debit and credit cards.
8. Remember to check on your neighbors. We are all in this together and we strengthen our community by pulling together.
9. Sign up for Humboldt Alert, Humboldt county’s emergency notification system. We will send out notification alerting you to any emergency that may affect you, not just a PSPS event. Click our link at the top of our Facebook page or visit Humboldtgov.org/alerts to sign up today.
For more information on preparedness, visit Ready.gov.
This story is ongoing and will be updated. For more information go to PG&E’s website or use their address lookup tool.
