UPDATE, Oct. 28, 1 p.m.: PG&E announced another round of preventative power shut-offs was on the way starting Tuesday. Some of those who had power turned off or knocked out over the weekend may not have power restored before it's turned off yet again. Read more on that here.

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As PG&E shut off power to 940,000 customers, or an estimated 2.5 million people across Northern California, the utility company briefed the public on the light at the end of the tunnel: when the power might be restored to all those left in the dark.

Just as the power was shut off in phases, it would also be restored in stages, depending on location and weather forecast. The affected area is broken up into seven regions, according to PG&E incident commander Mark Quinlan:

— Sierra foothills: all clear planned for 6 a.m. Monday

— North Bay Area: all clear planned for 8 a.m. Monday

— Southern Sierra foothills: all clear planned for midnight Monday

— South Bay and East Bay Area: all clear planned for 8 a.m. Monday

— Northern California coast up to Humboldt County: all clear planned for 4 p.m. Sunday

— Kern County: all clear planned for 6 p.m. Monday

— Madera and Fresno counties: all clear planned for 10 p.m. Monday

You can see where the power is out on PG&E's interactive outage map.

But just because the "all clear" is given, that doesn't mean the lights will come back on immediately. PG&E inspectors still need to visually inspect 31,000 miles of power lines for any signs of damage. A team of 6,000 PG&E personnel does most of the inspections during daylight hours, though the company will also use aircraft with high-resolution cameras and infrared technology to do some inspections at night.

In most cases, PG&E expects power to be restored within 48 hours of the "all clear." But if damage is detected and repairs are needed, localized power could be out for days.

As of early Monday afternoon, most of PG&E's outage map indicated "not available" for estimated restoration times. But some parts of the East Bay hills, Crockett, Livemore and the Walnut Creek area, power should be back on around 6 p.m. Monday.

PG&E proactively shut off power to much of Northern California due to the exceptionally high risk of wildfires over the weekend. The Kincade Fire in Sonoma County had burned over 30,000 and was only 10 percent contained as of Sunday morning.

Read the latest on the massive Kincade Fire here.

FULL PG&E SHUTOFF COVERAGE:

- EBMUD asks customers to minimize water use during shut-offs

- Stuck in the dark? Here’s where to find power in the Bay Area during the PG&E outage

- Official list of California cities where PG&E may cut power

- How do I know when PG&E is shutting off my power?

- Here’s why PG&E doesn’t put more power lines underground

Even more coverage here

Alix Martichoux is an SFGATE digital editor. Read her latest stories and send her news tips at alix.martichoux@sfgate.com.