In a presentation at last week's Willits City Council meeting, a representative from PG&E warned that residents around Mendocino County and all throughout the state should now be prepared for prolongued power shutoffs by the utility, when weather conditions associated with high wildfire danger occur.
PG&E Public Affairs Manager Brian Bottari, said the areas to be considered for "Public Safety Power Shutoffs" in California have been expanded this year, and he spoke of the conditions that might lead to a shutoff and the protocols for turning the power off and back on.
He also detailed several other increased safety measures by the company including "enhanced vegetation management", hardening of thousands of miles of power lines and thorough inspections of all equipment in high risk wildfire areas.