PG&E has begun visual inspections of its transmission lines in San Mateo County, paving the way for restoration of power to nearly 15,000 customers in the southern and coastal parts of the county impacted by the Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS).
However, residents are advised it could take up to five days for PG&E to finish the visual inspections and re-energize the lines. They are urged to maintain safety precautions until power is fully restored to Half Moon Bay, El Granada, Woodside, Moss Beach, Montara, Portola Valley, Pescadero, La Honda, San Gregorio, Loma Mar, Emerald Hills, Princeton, and the surrounding unincorporated areas along the coast and southwest of Interstate 280. The shutoff impacted 14,761 PG&E customers in San Mateo County, including 261 medical baseline customers.
During visual inspections, residents should expect to see low-flying helicopters and extra PG&E crews on the ground.
For updates on power restoration, visit www.PGECurrents.com or https://bit.ly/2IGWrMj.
While the power comes back on line, traffic lights may remain off and food or medication requiring refrigeration could be at risk. CalFresh recipients who experience loss of food purchased with those benefits may qualify to have them replaced. Those who may qualify must notify the County through mail, phone or in person within 10 days of experiencing the loss. Please call the Human Services Agency at 1-800-223-8383 or visit a regional office.
The Bay Area Air Quality Management District has issued an air quality advisory for smoke for the entire Bay Area region through Friday, Oct. 11, 2019.
County parks affected by the power shut down will remain closed until restoration is complete. For a complete list, visit parks.smcgov.org However, Huddart and Wunderlich parks which were closed due to high fire risk will reopen 8 a.m. Friday, Oct. 11.
During the PSPS, the Sheriff’s Office increased patrols in the impacted areas. The County’s Coastside Clinic closed Thursday, Oct. 10 and the Coastside Adult Day Health Center in Half Moon Bay will remain closed until power returns. On Thursday, schools remained open as did Seton Coastside which operated on a generator. Libraries in Half Moon Bay, Portola Valley and Woodside were also closed but the Woodside Library is expected to re-open Friday. The bookmobile is still operational and will keep its schedule through the week. Please check with Libraries for status updates.
Until power is fully restored, PG&E will maintain a tented Community Resource Center in the Pasta Moon restaurant parking lot, 845 Main St. in Half Moon Bay where residents can receive water, air conditioning and power charging for devices. The hours are 8 a.m. through at least 8 p.m.
The County of San Mateo activated its Emergency Operations Center at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, October 9 in anticipation of the PSPS events that were first announced to occur at noon but then were pushed back based on changing weather conditions. The power shut offs began at approximately 11:10 p.m. that night. In addition to monitoring the PSPS events, fire crews on Thursday were also busy containing an unrelated three-alarm brush fire on San Bruno Mountain that erupted. As a result, San Bruno Mountain State Park remains closed until further notice.
For more information on what to do during and after a Public Safety Power Shutoff, visit https://www.pge.com/en_US/safety/emergency-preparedness/natural-disaster/wildfires/outage-readiness.page.
For San Mateo County specific emergency updates, enroll in SMC Alert at smcalert.info and follow the County at twitter.com/sanmateocoand www.facebook.com/CountyofSanMateo.