Bay Area PG&E power shutdown: what’s open, what’s closed and what else you need to know

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The power shutoff by Pacific Gas & Electric that is anticipated to affect nearly 800,000 customers in 34 California counties is impacting schools, transportation and other services.

Here are a list of schools and other public services taking action as the power outages affect the Bay Area. Closures may extend beyond the next day or two; PG&E has said it could take up to seven days to restart power.

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SCHOOLS

Alum Rock Union School District: All 19 district schools and the district office will be closed on Thursday.

“Even though some schools may have power, the District Office will not have power and therefore cannot provide emergency support and services,” Superintendent Hilaria Bauer said in a statement.

The district plans to update families by 4 p.m. Thursday whether closures will be necessary on Friday, as well.

Berkeley Unified School District: Cragmont, John Muir, Oxford, Thousand Oaks, Martin Luther King, Hopkins and Emerson fall within the areas that might be affected, but the district posted on its website Wednesday afternoon that all schools are expected to be open on Thursday.

California School for the Deaf: A spokesperson said they are anticipating the shutoff could affect their campus in Fremont around noon Wednesday. They are having a planning meeting in the morning Wednesday to figure out how to best address the issue for the roughly 225 students who live on campus. Others who live locally will be bused home or picked up by family members. The school has been communicating with families of students in preparation for the shutoffs.

Castro Valley Unified School District: Jensen Ranch, Palomares, and Proctor Elementary Schools and Canyon Middle School were closed on Wednesday, but the district said all schools would be back in session Thursday. It did say the situation was fluid and things could change depending on weather conditions.

Fremont Unified School District: With the shutoff pushed back to at least 8 p.m. in the the Fremont area, the district said it will make announcements about closures as PG&E provides it more information.

Napa Valley Unified School District: All schools in the district will be closed on Thursday.

“The district faces complex operational issues when many campuses and facilities are without power. Additionally, we want to give families ample time to make alternate arrangements, recognizing that many families will also be impacted at their homes,” Superintendent Rosanna Mucetti said in a statement.

New Haven Unified School District: James Logan High School will be closed Wednesday, as it is in the anticipated shutoff zone. All other district schools are expected to be open and unaffected Wednesday, according to spokesman John Mattos. The district office may also lose power, but it shouldn’t affect operations overall, he said.

Oakland Unified School District: Fruitvale, Grass Valley, Howard, Montclair, Sequoia, Elmhurst United, Rudsdale Continuation, Skyline and Sojourner Truth will be closed on Thursday. All others will be open.

The district plans to have all of its schools open on Friday. Official messages will be sent via robocall, the district’s website (www.ousd.org), and Twitter, according to district spokesman John Sasaki.

Portola Valley School District: The two-school K-8 district nestled in the foothills behind Stanford University will be closed on Thursday, district officials announced.

San Leandro Unified School District: All schools will be back in session Thursday after being closed on closed on Wednesday.

West Contra Costa Unified School District: All schools remain open Thursday except for Pinole Valley High School and Kensington, Ellerhorst, Kensington, Madera and Olinda elementary schools, according to a district news release.

COLLEGES & UNIVERSITIES

CSU East Bay: Spokeswoman Kimberly Hawkins said officials are meeting about the shutoffs, as it’s possible the Hayward and Concord campuses could be affected by the shutoff, but nothing is certain yet. She said they’ll put the safety of students, staff, and faculty first. People looking for information from the university should check their social media channels, or the college homepage.

“We’re trying to plan as much as we can given the circumstances, but since the circumstances are constantly changing, we are changing with them,” Hawkins said.

Evergreen Valley College: The campus closed at noon Wednesday and will remain closed until further notice, the college announced.

Holy Names University: The Oakland college has canceled classes for Thursday.

Mills College: Classes have been canceled on Thursday.

West Valley-Mission Community College District: Saratoga and West Valley College would close down for most likely 48 hours if PG&E cuts off power between midnight and noon on Thursday. The district asks students to monitor its website (wvm.edu) for updates.

Santa Rosa Junior College: All classes, including online, have been canceled on Thursday.

UC Berkeley: All classes on Wednesday were canceled, but the campus remained opened with limited services. Just before 12:40 a.m. Thursday, the university’s Office of Emergency Management tweeted that classes would also be cancelled Thursday, urging employees to contact managers and pointing to its website (news.berkeley.edu) for updates.

TRANSPORTATION

BART: Service will still be running through the areas that are expected to lose power, and agency officials said the shutoffs should not cause any disruptions to service. BART’s system can pull power from areas that still have electricity to blacked-out regions, the agency says.

BART has brought in portable generators at six stations expected to lose power — Rockridge, Orinda, Lafayette, Castro Valley, West Dublin and Dublin — to run services such as fare gates, elevators and ticket machines, though officials warned that escalators may be out of service at those stations.

Caldecott Tunnel: Caltrans expects the Caldecott Tunnel to remain open. Spokesman Tony Tavares said crews were putting the finishing touches on installing emergency generators that would power the fans that keep vehicle exhaust from accumulating. The tunnel is a major thoroughfare that allows commuters to pass between between Contra Costa and Alameda counties.

Spokesman Bart Ney said the state transit agency was already in the process of ordering permanent generators for the future. “We’ve always known we would need backup generators,” he said.

The tunnel has previously been immune from power outages because, Ney explained, it draws power from both ends, from two different counties on different parts of the electricity grid. He said this was the first time Caltrans faced the possibility of losing power from both ends.

Caltrain: Train service is not expected to be affected. Caltrain will communicate any issues through Twitter.

Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority: The service warned riders that its buses could be delayed if traffic signals go down and cause gridlock. The agency also said in a blog post that it does not anticipate the outages will affect its light rail system, but warned, “We cannot rule that out yet.”

Tom Lantos Tunnels: The major thoroughfare on Highway 1 in San Mateo County — known as the Devil’s Slide Tunnels — is expected to remain open, according to Caltrans. Crews worked through the night to provide power to the tunnels.

OTHERS

Berkeley Lab: Power will be shut off after midnight and the lab will be closed Wednesday, according to its Twitter account.

East Bay MUD: The utility district has topped off reservoirs and is ensuring backup equipment is ready.

Marine Mammal Center: The ocean conservation center in Sausalito is closed until further notice. It has back-up power to keep its filters, pumps and food refrigerators running, but doesn’t have the ability to accept guests.

Oakland Zoo: According to a statement: “Unfortunately, we are closed today, Wednesday October 9, due to the mandated power shut offs by PG&E. While we have generators on-hand for the needs and care of our animals, the Zoo is closed today to the public.”

This article will be updated.

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