Customers in dark after PG&E proactively shuts off power

SAN FRANCISCO - Pacific Gas & Electric began shutting off power Tuesday evening for a larger number of customers than earlier anticipated. 

PG&E estimates that about 51,000 customers could be affected in 18 counties. 

By Wednesday morning, a red flag warning was still in effect for the North and East Bay Hills and some other parts of Alameda County because of dry conditions and the potential for strong wind gusts. The warning is set until 3 p.m.

The good news is that PG&E shut off power to relatively few customers in Alameda and Contra Costa counties, but the by Wednesday morning, the electricity has since been turned on. 

But thousands of other PG&E customers did go dark for a longer period. 

More than 6,800 customers in Napa County and 1,800 in Sonoma County and more than 1,000 in Solano county had their power shut off to reduce wildfire risk.

SEE ALSO: 'Critical' fire conditions trigger red flag warning in Bay Area

Overall, residents in Tehama and Shasta counties could experience the most widespread outages.  

PG&E spokesperson Tamar Sarkissian said customers should have flashlights with fresh batteries instead of using candles. She reminded to charge your devices now, ahead of the potential outages, such as cell phones, medical equipment and even electric vehicles.  

PG&E will start to get an all clear on the weather conditions by Wednesday afternoon. That's when they will begin notifying affected customers when their power will be turned back on. 

To see if your address may be affected, visit PG&E at: https://pgealerts.alerts.pge.com/updates/psps-events/