New '369' area code goes into effect for these areas

Starting Wednesday, people in the existing 707 area code region of California may be assigned a number with the 369 area code if they get a new phone line, according to the California Public Utilities Commission.

The change, called an overlay, will affect parts or all of Marin, Napa, Solano and Sonoma counties in the Bay Area as well as Del Norte, Glenn, Humboldt, Lake, Mendocino, Tehama and Trinity counties elsewhere in California, CPUC officials said.

The change is necessary because the available prefixes for numbers in the 707 area code are expected to be depleted by December of this year, according to the CPUC, which approved the overlay last June.

Existing phone numbers and prices of calls will not change, and people can still call three-digit numbers like 911, 988, 211 and 311.