PG&E cuts thousands of electricity, fires and earthquakes

8:30 a.m.: Mendocino oak fire grows overnight, issuing evictions

The oak fire in Mendocino County between Ukiah and Laytonville grew to 863 acres overnight and firefighting teams were able to contain a small portion of it as of Tuesday morning.

At 8 a.m., Cal Fire estimated containment at 5 percent. That’s higher than No-Contain and 700 acres late Monday night.

The Mendocino County Mayor’s Office issued evacuation orders and warnings for these areas starting Monday night.

View a map of evacuations here.

Interstate 101 remains closed just north of Willetts, from North Willetts on a ramp to the intersection of Highway 101 with Highway 162 in Longville.

There is no estimated time to reopen, CalTrans said.

As in Sonoma County, firefighters and evacuees will deal with the high temperatures and winds of the day, triggering fires warnings in the area.

In Mendocino County, the warning indicates gale easterly winds and low humidity until Wednesday morning.

7:45 am: Nearly 18,000 PG&E customers in Sonoma County without power as of Wednesday

About 17,690 Pacific Gas and Electric customers in Sonoma County were without power early Tuesday and will likely remain in the dark until Wednesday night.

PG&E said they included 15,052 customers in Santa Rosa and 2,633 in unincorporated areas of the county.

They would likely be without electricity until 7 p.m. Wednesday.

See a map of where PG&E outages occurred now here.

PG&E spokeswoman Diana Contreras said the facility expects to get all clarity about the risk of weather fires on Wednesday morning, which will allow work crews to begin checking and reactivating power lines.

She said that customers who have been cut off should receive text messages or automated phone calls warning them and should receive the same time with expected recovery times.

Once the fire hazard is over, the facilities’ 65 helicopters and ground crews will be able to inspect lines in affected areas and begin to restart power.

“We cannot reactivate it unless the damage is repaired,” she said. “There are trees on the lines or damage by the wind. They have to be repaired and then we can restore the energy.”

The heat wave that swept Sonoma County over the weekend will continue on Tuesday and Wednesday, with temperatures expected to rise above 90. The National Weather Service said Tuesday’s high is expected to reach 96 in Santa Rosa.

Due to the heat and power outages, Santa Rosa officials opened an emergency operations center on Monday.

Santa Rosa aide Marshal Paul Lowenthal said the refrigeration center at Still Lane Community Center, which opened on Sunday due to hot weather in the area, will remain open Tuesday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. due to planned outages.

The fire-prone weather prompted officials of 10 local fire departments to create a county-wide task force that will complete the regular firefighting staff during the red flag warning term, which began Monday at 10 p.m. and continues until 8 a.m. Wednesday, Lewenthal said.

If a fire breaks out during that time, Lowenthal said, one or more crews can respond to fight the fire in addition to the firefighters already working in those areas.

Lowenthal said the teams, made up of about 30 firefighters from across the county, including a three-man unit from Santa Rosa, may also patrol high-risk areas in their respective areas of jurisdiction. That includes Fountaingrove, Oakmont and Annadel Heights in Santa Rosa, he said.

“They are ready to respond wherever there is a need in the county,” Lowenthal said.

7 a.m.: No damage reported in a small earthquake

Sonoma County residents woke up on Tuesday to a PG&E power outage, a small blaze in the Wallbridge fire sparking more evacuations, a red weather warning continuing with warmer temperatures and winds and even an earthquake in Fountaingrove.

There were no reports of damage or injuries from the 2.6 earthquake, which struck before 2 am between Skyfarm Drive and Thomas Lake Harris Drive north of Lake Fountaingrove.

Santa Rosa police and the fire department said they had not received any emergency calls about the quake.

Pacific Gas and Electric started power outages overnight due to the risk of fire, and there were multiple outages in Sonoma County Tuesday morning affecting thousands of customers.

The company said 172,000 customers in 22 provinces were without electricity.

In Sonoma County, others included on the eastern side of Santa Rosa, south towards Boise Hot Springs and north towards Calistoga Road and in Napa County.

The planned outage began around 9 PM on Monday in some areas and continued until 6 AM on Tuesday.

PG&E said it is undertaking planned outages as a last resort, when it is necessary to protect public safety from the risk of severe wildfires.

The company did not say when the electricity would be returned to existing areas.

See the current PG&E blackout map here.

Santa Rosa and Rohnert Park reported blackouts at traffic lights early Tuesday. They advise drivers to be extra careful and treat all intersections without electricity as a four-wheel drive.

Traffic lights go out in all directions on Rohnert Park Expressway and Commerce Boulevard early Tuesday.

Evacuation alerts remained in effect early Tuesday after being re-issued in two areas near the Walbridge fire around 10:10 p.m.:

Residents south of Mill Creek Road, north of Sweetwater Springs Road, west of Westside Road and east of Palmer Creek Road, were asked to evacuate their homes immediately. The area is known as Zone 2E4 on the county evacuation zone map.

An evacuation warning was also issued for Area 1D5, an area north of the Russian River, east of Armstrong Woods Road, west of Westside Road and south of Sweetwater Springs Road.

A map of Sonoma County’s current evacuation warnings and orders is available here.

Although Cal Fire halted the escalation progress quickly, spokesman Will Bowers said, these orders remained in effect Tuesday morning.

Sonoma County sheriffs responded to the area to alert residents and guide them to safety, helping to remove a fallen tree on Sweetwater Springs Road near McCray Ridge Road so residents could evacuate and firefighters could enter to fight the fire.

This is a developing story. Please check back later for additional updates.

Writer Nashly Chavez contributed to this report. You can reach Staff Writer Lori A. Carter at 707-521-5470 or [email protected]. @Loriacarter on Twitter.

What Are The Main Benefits Of Comparing Car Insurance Quotes Online

LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / June 24, 2020, / Compare-autoinsurance.Org has launched a new blog post that presents the main benefits of comparing multiple car insurance quotes. For more info and free online quotes, please visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/the-advantages-of-comparing-prices-with-car-insurance-quotes-online/ The modern society has numerous technological advantages. One important advantage is the speed at which information is sent and received. With the help of the internet, the shopping habits of many persons have drastically changed. The car insurance industry hasn't remained untouched by these changes. On the internet, drivers can compare insurance prices and find out which sellers have the best offers. View photos The advantages of comparing online car insurance quotes are the following: Online quotes can be obtained from anywhere and at any time. Unlike physical insurance agencies, websites don't have a specific schedule and they are available at any time. Drivers that have busy working schedules, can compare quotes from anywhere and at any time, even at midnight. Multiple choices. Almost all insurance providers, no matter if they are well-known brands or just local insurers, have an online presence. Online quotes will allow policyholders the chance to discover multiple insurance companies and check their prices. Drivers are no longer required to get quotes from just a few known insurance companies. Also, local and regional insurers can provide lower insurance rates for the same services. Accurate insurance estimates. Online quotes can only be accurate if the customers provide accurate and real info about their car models and driving history. Lying about past driving incidents can make the price estimates to be lower, but when dealing with an insurance company lying to them is useless. Usually, insurance companies will do research about a potential customer before granting him coverage. Online quotes can be sorted easily. Although drivers are recommended to not choose a policy just based on its price, drivers can easily sort quotes by insurance price. Using brokerage websites will allow drivers to get quotes from multiple insurers, thus making the comparison faster and easier. For additional info, money-saving tips, and free car insurance quotes, visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ Compare-autoinsurance.Org is an online provider of life, home, health, and auto insurance quotes. This website is unique because it does not simply stick to one kind of insurance provider, but brings the clients the best deals from many different online insurance carriers. In this way, clients have access to offers from multiple carriers all in one place: this website. On this site, customers have access to quotes for insurance plans from various agencies, such as local or nationwide agencies, brand names insurance companies, etc. "Online quotes can easily help drivers obtain better car insurance deals. All they have to do is to complete an online form with accurate and real info, then compare prices", said Russell Rabichev, Marketing Director of Internet Marketing Company. CONTACT: Company Name: Internet Marketing CompanyPerson for contact Name: Gurgu CPhone Number: (818) 359-3898Email: [email protected]: https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ SOURCE: Compare-autoinsurance.Org View source version on accesswire.Com:https://www.Accesswire.Com/595055/What-Are-The-Main-Benefits-Of-Comparing-Car-Insurance-Quotes-Online View photos