Hundreds of thousands of California residents are in the dark and some are fuming.
Pacific Gas and Electric is getting static after shutting down power for at least three-quarters of a million people in California.
California resident Blair Roman said, “I’m angry at PG&E and most of my friends are as well.”
Among the affected areas is Santa Clara County, where a local state of emergency is declared.
San Jose Vice Mayor Chappie Jones said, “If you live in any affected area, stay at home as much as possible during this power shut-off.”
Forecasters say the state’s extreme wind and dry vegetation make it vulnerable for a wildfire. PG&E hopes this outage will prevent another one from starting.
The utility has agreed to pay billions of dollars for last year’s fatal Camp Fire because its equipment was linked to the blaze.
Some residents are venting their frustration. One person living in Sonoma County said, “If it wasn’t for, I guess, a lack of PG&E doing their job in the first place this probably wouldn’t be necessary.”
California Governor Gavin Newsom stated, “No one’s happy to see their power cut off, so no one is satisfied, no one’s pleased.”
A PG&E truck was struck by a bullet Tuesday and a customer service center was egged Wednesday. No injuries were reported.
PG&E officials said the company understood the stressful impact of its shutdown and was working as fast as it could.
PG&E Community Wildfire Safety Program Vice President Sumeet Singh said, “It’s critically important that we’re providing a safe environment for them and those are the types of incidents that really cause us concern.”
Once the weather conditions improve, the company says it will inspect its equipment before bringing the power back.
PG&E tweeted that it’s experiencing a high amount of traffic on its website and says its team is working as quick as it can to restore access.
The blackout could last up to a week in some areas. The second phase of shutoffs began overnight.
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