North Bay red flag warning in effect; no PG&E power shutoffs in Sonoma County

With parts of the North Bay beginning Monday in the midst of a red flag warning — after meteorologists forecast the increase of dry offshore winds that will intensify the threat of wildfires — residents of Sonoma County can at least take comfort that their power won’t be shut off, as well.

On Sunday night, Pacific, Gas & Electric Co. revised its previous alert about possible power shutoffs due to the extreme weather conditions. Instead of affecting “14,000 customers in small portions of 13 counties,” that amount was reduced to “7,100 customers in small portions of 10 counties.”

Sonoma County residents are no longer included in PG&E’s warnings.

However, some residents in Napa and Lake counties, as well as Colusa, Glenn, Shasta, Solano, Tehama, Yolo, Kern and Santa Barbara counties, and the Cortina Rancheria and Grindstone Rancheria tribes will likely be affected.

Power shutoffs in Lake and Napa counties are expected to begin at 5 a.m. and end at 10 p.m.

About 1,225 customers will be affected in Napa County. In Lake County, about 51 customers will lose power.

PG&E said “changing weather conditions Sunday morning,” prompted the changes.

Rain fell across the region Saturday night, with most of Sonoma County accumulating as much as 0.1 inch, the National Weather Service said Sunday.

The Charles M. Schulz-Sonoma County Airport recorded about 0.07 of an inch of rain, while Napa County’s Mount Veeder received 0.04 of an inch, according to the weather service.

The red flag warning began at 11 p.m. Sunday and is expected to end at 8 p.m. Monday.

The areas at greatest wildfire risk include the North Bay hills along with a wide swath of Northern California, including southern Lake County and the East Bay hills and interior valleys.

Northeast winds of 10 to 20 mph are expected, with gusts up to 40 mph. The highest peaks could see gusts up to 50 mph, according to the weather service.

Humidity is expected to rapidly drop as the winds arrive.

Locations that accumulated less than 0.1 inch of rain on Saturday night will be of the highest concern, forecasters said.

“Any fire starts would likely see rapid spread due to dry fuels, low humidity and gusty winds in areas that did not receive wetting rains over the last 24 hours,“ the weather service said Sunday.

Staff writer Mya Constantino contributed to this story.

You can reach Staff Writer Matt Pera at matthew.pera@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @Matt__Pera.