Residents prepare for an evacuation if a wildfire starts

PG&E announced Sunday it will move forward with public safety power shutoffs. PG&E customers in the Bay Area don’t want to be left in the dark so many are getting ready for the possibility of losing power.

Jacquelline Fuller is one of those customers. She said her family teases her for being overly prepared for emergencies, but in a situation like being prepared is important.

“We need to find all the lanterns and get those out and make sure the house is prepared,” said Fuller.

Fuller’s family is one of many in the Bay Area preparing for the possibility of the PSPS.

“We’ve got customers looking for flashlights and batteries and coolers and generators of course we have a few generators left,” said Mary Elias with Cole Hardware in Oakland.

People crowded the hardware shop in an effort to stock up before the black out.

“I have to get a couple of flashlights. I like these little ones I put one in every room,” said Cole Hardware customer Chloe Atkins.

This PSPS event is the fifth of the year and the most widespread so far because of critical fire weather forecasted. PG&E cuts power during big wind events to prevent the chance of the utility’s equipment sparking a wildfire.

Hundreds of thousands across Northern California could be without power over the next couple of days.

“I think people are taking heed of that notice and doing what they need to do in order to get ready,” said Elias.