Thousands of northern and central California residents were notified on Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2019, of a “public safety power shutoff” by PG&E in response to high fire advisories. A public safety power shutoff is an event where electricity is turned off because of the dry weather conditions and gusty winds.
“We anticipate that a Public Safety Power Shutoff could occur several times per year in PG&E’s service area although it is impossible to predict with certainty when, where and how often gusty winds and dry conditions, combined with a heightened fire risk, could occur, given the rapidly changing environmental conditions,” states PG&E’s website.
By Wednesday, Oct. 9 2019, at midnight, counties across the Bay Area, northern Calif., and central Calif. were affected and without power, and by 5 a.m. the Bay Area was under a red flag warning. The strongest winds were expected to occur from Wednesday through Thursday, Oct. 10.
Sonoma State University and Sonoma county residents and schools were also affected by the shutoff. Students were notified of the possibility of Sonoma State being affected by the power shutoff on Tuesday, Oct. 8, and by Tuesday night Sonoma State confirmed that power to campus would be shut off and classes were canceled for Wednesday, Oct. 9. By 3 p.m. on Wednesday, students and staff were alerted that all classes and activities were canceled through Friday, Oct. 11.
“We were prepared for it, we were notified that this was a definite possibility on Monday, we let people know by Tuesday that this was a possibility, so we were ready but you’re never really quite prepared until it happens,” states Paul Gullixson, the Associate Vice President for Strategic Communications at Sonoma State. “We learned a lot, but overall we handled it as well as what could be expected.”
Students were encouraged by faculty and staff to be prepared for the electricity shut off by having emergency kits, flashlights, and fully charged electronic devices. The university provided students with a charging station outside of Police services on campus.
Juelle Citizen, a fourth-year student who lives on campus, stated that she was “in no way prepared for the shutdown, being that the school sent out a late email and no one knew how to prepare for it accurately.”
“In the case of another fire preventative shutdown, I would advise students to prioritize getting essentials such as dry foods, flashlights, and portable chargers and not to underestimate the shut down or take it lightly. I found it helpful that the university had set up charging stations for phones so people could be in contact with their family as well as offering alternative activities for students during the shutoff,” states Citizen.
Back up generators are used to keep power to essential refrigeration of labs in Darwin where there are critical research and refrigeration services in the Student Center.
“We have generators for essential functions such as refrigeration of culinary services, but in a campus as large as this, we don’t have the capacity to keep the whole campus in operation, and for that reason, we have to shut down in times like this,” according to Paul Gullixson.
According to Marin County officials, there was “potential for this to be the strongest offshore wind event in the area since the October 2017 North Bay fires.” There were consistent winds of about 20-30 miles per hour with gusts from 45-55 miles per hour.
Students living on campus were without power until Thursday, Oct. 10 around 7 p.m., when an alert was sent out that power on campus was restored and internet and network services were back up and functioning. Classes and activities remained canceled through Saturday, Oct. 12, and classes and normal business operations would resume on Sunday, Oct. 13.
By Thursday at 5 p.m., the red flag warning was lifted for most of the Bay Area, and by Saturday at 2 p.m., all PG&E customers had restored electricity.
