How to look up if PG&E’s planned power shut-off will affect you

Sunday midday update: The utility said Sunday morning 23,464 customers countywide are likely to lose power. Earlier, PG&E had said up to about 46,000 Sonoma customers could be unplugged.

Customers here could start losing electricity from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday and power should be restored by 10 p.m. Tuesday.

To see the latest update go here:

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Pacific Gas & Electric Co. still plans to preemptively shut off electricity to more than 38,000 customers in Sonoma County as part of about 466,000 customers across Northern and Central California who may experience an outage.

The potential outage in Sonoma County is estimated to begin between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Sunday, according to Adriane Mertens, a Santa Rosa city spokeswoman. The shut-offs within city limits, where about 40% of the Sonoma County customers are located, fall between the 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. window, she said.

The number of customers targeted in Sonoma County is among the top four largest totals who could lose power starting Sunday among the 38 counties on PG&E’s list. Outside of Santa Rosa city limits, the remainder are located in unincorporated areas on both sides of Highway 101, including east and west Sonoma County, according to PG&E.

The investor-owned utility company refers to the planned outages as public safety power shut-offs, or PSPS for short.

“Initial forecasts indicate this could be our largest PSPS event this year so far. Our highest priority is to keep customers and communities safe and execute this event according to our plan and to then quickly restore power to all affected customers when it’s safe to do so,” Michael Lewis, PG&E’s interim president, said in a statement.

To see whether you may be impacted, visit PG&E’s website: pgealerts.alerts.pge.com/addresslookup

In Napa County, where firefighters continue to increase containment on the Pope fire, 15,600 customers could expect a power outage, in addition to 19,600 customers in Marin County, PG&E said. More than 31,500 customers in Lake County could lose electricity, with shut-offs in the city of Lakeport expected to begin Sunday at 4 p.m. and last through Tuesday at 10 p.m., the Lakeport Police Department reported.

About 8,600 customers in Mendocino County may also experience an outage, according to the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office, with those shut-offs are anticipated between noon and 8 p.m. Sunday.

A pair of red flag warnings issued for the region by the National Weather Service will take effect Sunday. Both warnings affect Sonoma County and the surrounding communities, which led PG&E to warn customers it may cut power so its lines do not spark more fires.

The first red flag warning starts on Sunday at 11 a.m. and covers the North Bay mountains and East Bay hills, and expires Tuesday at 11 a.m. The strongest wind gusts, which forecasters predict could reach upwards of 70 mph — the fiercest of the 2020 fire season — will occur Sunday night into early Monday morning.

The second red flag warning that covers lower-lying areas throughout Sonoma County — including the Highway 101 corridor and Sonoma Coast — begins at 8 p.m. Sunday and ends Monday at 11 a.m. Sustained wind speeds in the valleys are expected at up to 30 mph, with gusts reaching 50 mph, according to the National Weather Service in Monterey.

You can reach Staff Writer Kevin Fixler at 707-521-5336 or kevin.fixler@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @kfixler.