The Humboldt Office of Emergency Services has announced that PG&E has restored all power to Humboldt County homes. PG&E had initiated a Public Safety Power Shutoff on Oct. 25, because of a Red Flag Warning that began on the same day. Only Southern Humboldt Residents were impacted. PG&E Community Resource Centers have closed. Power has […]
Public Safety Power Shutoff
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SoHum Residents May Not See Power Until Tomorrow
The Humboldt County Office of Emergency Services reports some areas in the southwest, including Honeydew, Petrolia and Whitethorn, have skirted PG&E’s Public Safety Power Shutoff. A shutoff in Southern Humboldt, however, is currently underway as well as in northeast portions of the county, but communities in the latter are “currently running off of temporary generation […]
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Fire Weather Watch This Weekend; Possible PG&E PSPS
The National Weather Service has issued another Red Flag warning for Sunday, Oct. 25 through Tuesday, Oct. 27. Regions are expected to have east to northeast winds of 20 -30 mph with gusts of up to 50 mph, with very low daytime humidity and “poor to very poor overnight recoveries.” NWS is advising people to […]
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Power Shutoff Expected to Hit Humboldt Areas
PG&E announced today that plans for a Public Safety Power Shutoff are going forward due to a forecasted high wind event coupled with low humidity. An estimated 187 Humboldt customers in the Bridgeville, Blocksburg and Alderpoint areas are expected to be affected beginning around 4 p.m. tomorrow and lasting through until 10 p.m. Friday. More […]
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Some Humboldt Residents in Scope of PG&E Power Shutoff
The Humboldt County Office of Emergency Services posted an announcement on its Facebook page tonight warning that some parts of Humboldt are in the scope of a potential PG&E Public Safety Power Shutoff. “PG&E has released updated Public Safety Power Shutoff information indicating likely power-shutoffs to communities along Alderpoint Road from Highway 36 to Fort […]
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Power Shutoff Slated to End Wednesday
Wildfire threats from a high wind event prompted PG&E to turn off power to some 172,000 California residents, including about 3,000 in Humboldt County. For those affected, the lights are expected to come back on around 5 p.m. Wednesday, although it could be as late as 9 p.m. for some, according to PG&E. Two local […]
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Bridgeville Area in Scope for Monday Power Shutoff
The Humboldt County Office of Emergency Services posted an announcement on its Facebook page warning that Humboldt is in scope for a potential power shutoff. “Due to high temperatures and related potential for wildfire, Humboldt County is in scope for a Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) beginning Monday, 9/7/2020,” starting around 10 p.m. Due to high […]
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Blue Lake Rancheria’s Microgrid Efforts Make HuffPost
A HuffPost story published today on the role microgrids play in keeping the lights on during natural disasters — focusing mainly on a community located on the Bay of Bengal in the wake of a cyclone — gives a cameo appearance to the Blue Lake Rancheria’s efforts. The story describes the Rancheria’s microgrid system — […]
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Parts of Humboldt Going Off-Grid in ‘Islanding’ Test, Outages Possible
PG&E announced today it will conduct a test run of “islanding” the Humboldt County power plant Saturday morning. If successful, it would mark a significant step forward in isolating the region when Public Safety Power Shutoffs are needed in nearby counties. That, of course, was a major reason the county was plunged into darkness twice […]
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North Coast Night Lights: Lights Out in Eureka During the PSPS of 10/27/19
When the PG&G Public Safety Power Shutoff of Oct. 27 cast its shadow on Humboldt County, the chance to explore Eureka in light of the unusual darkness was irresistible. Just 16 days earlier I’d had the opportunity to traipse around a darkened Arcata and capture some unusual images of the city under the light of […]
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A Communications ClusterKerfuffle
It was about 4:15 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 28, when, just hours removed from a PG&E Public Safety Power Shutoff that had cut power to the entirety of Humboldt County for about 36 hours, the county Office of Emergency Services sent out an alert. “PG&E advises that ALL customers in Humboldt County will lose power […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
Crossed Lines
Imagine police are responding to a report of a man with a gun. Three officers pull up to find the man standing on a sidewalk. They all exit their patrol cars, raise their firearms, holding the man at gunpoint, and simultaneously begin shouting orders. “Hands up!” says one. “Get down on the ground,” yells another. […]