PG&E working to restore power from planned shutoffs, weather 'all clear' given

OAKLAND, Calif. - Pacific Gas and Electric is working to restore power to thousands of its Northern California customers after Tuesday's shutoff due to a wind event and fire danger. 

48,000 customers were affected by PG&E's Public Safety Power Shutoff including in Napa, Sonoma, and Solano counties. Contra Costa and Alameda counties were initially included in the plan for power shutoffs, but were removed just before the shutoffs began. 

Re-energization for some locations came as early as Wednesday morning. By Wednesday afternoon, meteorologists had issued a weather "all clear." 

The utility had restored 55% of customers' power by Wednesday night. They said it expects to restore power in full to all customers by Thursday evening. 

Crews on the ground and via helicopter are inspecting thousands of transmission and distribution lines and will make repairs as necessary before restoring power and notifying customers.

The majority of current outages are concentrated in the North Bay. 

The outages have become a routine part of Northern California living, although this was the first of the season. The proactive outages to prevent wildfires have been more targeted since they were first introduced.

PG&E has said they want to utilize this measure as a last resort. 

The utility said 25 customer resource centers in 11 counties will remain open Thursday. Customers can charge their electronic devices, access restrooms, Wi-Fi, bottled water and snacks at the centers. A list of available centers can be found here. 

Bay City News contributed to this report.