Neighborhood Meeting: Preparation for PG&E Power Shut Offs

The Federation of San Rafael Neighborhoods is hosting a neighborhood meeting regarding the potential PG&E power shut offs.

SPEAKERS:

• Marin County Fire Chief Jason Weber
• San Rafael Fire Chief Chris Gray
• Tom Jordan, County Office of Emergency Services,
• Quinn Gardner, SR Director of Emergency Services

ALSO IN ATTENDANCE: Mayor Phillips, Supervisors Connolly and Rodoni,
PG&E Representative

As you likely have heard, PG&E is planning to closely monitor weather conditions during this fire season and plans to shut down electrical power to circuits in areas of high winds, high temperatures, and dry vegetation. Given their circuit architecture, these outages will likely affect broad areas – some not immediately experiencing the high risk weather conditions. This may include much of or all of Marin County. Based on an analysis of last year’s conditions, we could expect to experience outages totaling up to 20 days, in groupings of 3-6 day stretches. While planning for electrical outages in our homes, there is a broader landscape to consider. What infrastructure is likely to be affected by these outages? Consider that traffic lights, gas stations, ATMs, internet service, cell phone towers, banks, grocery stores, drug stores, and many local businesses may be affected during an outage. Planning is currently underway at the County and City level, and should begin at the neighborhood level as well.