Tens of thousands of Northern Californians will find themselves without electricity Wednesday as Pacific Gas & Electric cuts power to reduce the threat of hot, dry, gusty weather knocking down power lines and sparking wildfires.
The utility announced it would shut off power to more than 48,000 customers in the Sierra Nevada foothills and the wine country between 2:30 a.m. and 4:30 a.m., and the outage will last until the weather improves.
The counties are Butte, Napa, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Sonoma and Yuba. The utility warned that it could take several days to restore power.
It was the second precautionary shutoff this week. Power was cut to 24,000 customers in Butte, Nevada and Yuba counties on Monday evening, lasting into Tuesday.
Strong winds, low humidity and warm temperatures were forecast in the state through Wednesday, and authorities issued an extreme fire danger warning for some areas, including the Northern California interior.
