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UPDATE: Oct. 25, 6 p.m. PG&E releases timeline of potential power outages

In a press briefing Friday evening, Pacific Gas and Electric said it has not yet made the "final determination" on whether to move forward with the public safety power shutoffs, but said that it will make that decision by 8 a.m. Saturday.

"Given the forecast ... and the historical nature of what can be anticipated, we are preparing for what is likely going to be a widespread safety shutoff across our service territory to combat the risk of a catastrophic wildfire," said Sumeet Singh, vice president of asset and risk management.

Singh announced the timeline of the potential power outages, should PG&E decide to move forward with the shut-offs: Northern Sierra Foothills will be affected first, with outages predicted for 3 p.m.; North Bay and the Mendocino areas at 5 p.m.; the Bay Area, coast and southern portion of the Sierra Foothills at 7 p.m.; Kern County will be shut off at 11 a.m. Sunday.

Singh stressed, however, that the timeline could change.

"The times here are subject to change," said Singh. "We continue to monitor the weather forecast; if things move up, we potentially could move things up, and if we have the opportunity to further delay the de-energization — if we see one hour, two hours or multiple hours delay of the forecast of the impacted area — that’s exactly what we’re going to do."

UPDATE: Oct. 25, 2 p.m. PG&E prepares to cut power to 850,000 customers, beginning Saturday night

In a press release Friday afternoon, Pacific Gas and Electric said it is monitoring a potentially severe weekend wind event that could lead the utility company to turn off power to 850,000 Northern California customers. If you estimate roughly three individuals per household, the number of people impacted will top 2.5 million. The critical fire weather is forecast to begin Saturday night and continue into Monday.

PG&E said the shutoffs could occur in 36 counties across portions of Humboldt, the Sierra foothills, Western Sacramento Valley, North Bay, and across the greater Bay Area, Monterey Bay and northern Central Coast on Saturday, Oct. 26. Parts of Kern County could lose power on Sunday.

PG&E hasn't released a timeline for when outages will begin but it said the weather forecast indicates damaging winds are expected to develop between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. Saturday and the utility will turn off power several hours before the gusty conditions pick up.

"Customers should prepare for a shutoff lasting 48 hours or longer, given the long duration of the wind event," the utility said in a statement.

Find a complete list of potentially impacted cities and the estimated number of customers impacted in each county here.

Many experts are saying this could be the biggest-ever PG&E shutoff, impacting more customers than any previous occasion.

UPDATE: Oct. 25, 1:06 p.m.: Newsom slams PG&E

In a news conference in Healdsburg, Friday, Governor Gavin Newsom touted the state's efforts in wildfire repsonse planning and capital expenditures on firefighting aircraft.

The pre-positioning of firefighting assets in anticipation of dangerous fire weather, in particular, benefited the state's response to the Kincade fire, Newsom said.

But after the congratulatory language, the governor went on to slam PG&E:

"We should not have to be here. Years and years of greed, years and years of mismanagement in the utilities, in particularly PG&E. Greed has precipitated a lack of intentionality and focus and a hardening our grid, undegrounding their transmission lines. They simply did not do their job.

It took us decades to get here, but we will get out of this mess. We will hold them to an account that they have never been held to in the past. We will do everything in our power to restructure PG&E so it is a completely different entity. When they get out of bankruptcy by June 30th of next year, we will hold them accountable for the business interruption and costs associated with these blackouts and we will do the same with the other two investor owned utilities in Southern California," Newsom said.

"Mark my word it is a new day of accountability, it is a new day of transparency. But I cannot honestly look any of you in the eye and honestly say we can snap our fingers and address a decade of mismanagement," he added, attempting to set expectations.

In response to a reporter's question, Newsom said that while he has been in part of discussions about the cause of the fire, and PG&E's potential involvement due to a broken piece of equipment on a transmission tower, it is too early to determine a cause and the investigation is ongoing.

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UPDATE: Oct. 25, 10:25 a.m.: Potential outage times announced by local authorities

The Marin County Sheriff's office is advising residents PG&E may shut off their power between 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. Saturday as high winds are expected yet again this weekend.

Meteorologists are predicting the conditions to rival those at the time of the 2017 Wine Country Fires with gusts in Northern California up to 80 mph.

PG&E has not yet publicly given anticipated times for potential outages as they are subject to changing weather forecasts, however, officials from various counties have announced preliminary windows that outages may take place:

Alameda: 5 p.m., Saturday

Contra Costa: 10 p.m. Saturday

UPDATE: Oct. 25, 9:15 a.m.: PG&E stock tanks

Pacific Gas and Electric stock tanked Friday following the news that company equipment on a transmission tower malfunctioned near the origin of the Kincade Fire in Sonoma County.

Shares fell more than 25 percent to $5.40 on worries that potential liabilities from the fire could wipe out investors and scuttle company efforts to emerge from bankruptcy. The stock was selling at nearly $50 a share about a year ago.

UPDATE: Oct. 25, 6 a.m.: Pacific Gas and Electric reported late Thursday night that power has been restored to 93 percent of customers impacted by the deliberate blackouts. The utility said roughly 165,000 customers have seen their power return out of the initial 179,000 whose power was cut.

In the Bay Area, some customers in Napa and Sonoma counties are still waiting for their power to go back on. In Napa County, 71% of customers have been restored and in Sonoma County 81% percent. San Mateo County is fully restored. PG&E suspects all restorations will be complete Friday.

As PG&E continues to turn the power back on, the utility company warned customers of another outage beginning Saturday night with windy weather expected to kick up again. Some of the same customers impacted in this most recent shutoff to mitigate wildfire risk may be affected again.

PG&E said in a news release that it's closely monitoring the forecast for dry, offshore winds Saturday night and may turn out the lights in the Sierra Foothills, North Bay, Peninsula, Central Coast, East Bay and Humboldt.

Customers in portions of Contra Costa and Alameda counties may see the lights go out.

Contra Costa County Supervisor John Gioia shared on Twitter: "PG&E is planning a power outage throughout Contra Costa starting this Saturday at 10 pm through Monday at 2 pm due to strong winds and dry conditions. Here’s the map showing potential outage areas. More to follow."

The Alameda County Sheriff's Department tweeted, "PG&E has notified Alameda County that we will likely experience another Public Safety Power Shutoff starting Saturday, Oct 26 at 5pm to Monday, Oct 28 at 2pm. 57,000 customers affected. Stay tuned for updates."

UPDATE: Oct. 24, 5:48 p.m.: PG&E says a broken jumper cable on a transmission tower was observed amid the response to the 10,000-acre Kincade Fire in north Sonoma County. The problem with the tower was initially disclosed to the California Public Utility Commission in an electronic incident report.

"Filing the EIR does not tell us where the fire started," said Bill Johnson, the CEO of PG&E in a news conference Thursday evening.

"The transmission line was not among the lines de-energized in Sonoma county," Johnson said, adding "They did not meet the conditions that we forecast for transmission outage. We relied on the protocol and we still at this point do not know what happened."

During the news conference, PG&E's chief meteorologist Scott Strenfel, said peak wind gusts in the North Bay were recorded up to 70 miles per hour.

"The winds were coupled with every dray and warm air and we saw humidities fall into the teens and single digits in most of California where they remain now," Strenfel said.

PG&E said roughly 125,000 customers have seen their power return out of the initial 179,000 whose power was cut.

The utility company says power to all customers is expected to be restored by Friday night.

UPDATE, Oct. 24, 3:18 p.m.: PG&E is giving the "all clear" for safety inspections to begin in most California counties. The utility company earlier gave the go ahead to San Mateo County and are beginning the power restoration process in all Northern California counties.

The company said they expect to turn the power to most customers back by Friday night, pending any damage to infrastructure.

Meteorologists are closely monitoring another potential high-wind event this weekend, and PG&E has warned residents another public safety power shutoff may be necessary Saturday.

UPDATE, Oct. 24, 7 a.m.: To reduce the risk of wildfires sparking amid dry and windy weather, PG&E has shut off power to roughly 179,000 customers in 16 counties in the Sierra Foothills and North Bay — Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, El Dorado, Lake, Mendocino, Napa, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, San Mateo, Sierra, Sonoma, Tehama and Yuba.

About 1,000 customers in portions of San Mateo counties saw the lights go out around 1 a.m. Thursday.

As soon as PG&E meteorologists say the winds have calmed, ground crews will begin inspecting equipment and the restoration will begin. The utility expects to get the all-clear around noon Thursday.

PG&E said in a statement issued Wednesday night it is "monitoring and preparing for an additional wind event starting Saturday, October 26, which may require further shutoffs. Early forecasts show that this has the potential to be widespread across PG&E’s service area in Northern and Central California with significant winds."

UPDATE, Oct. 23, 10 p.m.: PG&E announced Wednesday evening that it has cut power in 15 counties in the Sierra Foothills and North Bay — Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, El Dorado, Lake, Mendocino, Napa, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Sierra, Sonoma, Tehama and Yuba — impacting about 178,000 customers in those areas.

Power shut-offs are still planned for a small pocket of San Mateo County, impacting roughly 1,000 customers, and Kern County, where up to 30 customers could be affected. These are set to begin about 1 a.m. Thursday.

In total, the intentional blackout to mitigate wildfire risk amid dry, windy weather will affect about 179,000 customers in 17 counties. When you consider an average of three people per household, the event could affect more than a 500,000 residents.

UPDATE, Oct. 23, 6 p.m.: PG&E confirmed that a number of intentional outages in Northern California have already occurred, with plans to have the shut-off continue in San Mateo and Kern counties at 1 a.m., as stated earlier.

The utility company clarified a rumor that has been circulating stating that due to the high winds and elevated fire risk expected overnight and again on the weekend, electricity would remain off through the entirety of both weather events for affected counties.

PG&E officials stated that this is untrue, and that the company intends to fully restore power to customers once the winds have died down, which is expected to happen about noon Thursday.

Once equipment has been inspected for damage by employees and given the all clear, power will be restored to residents. Meteorologists will continue to look at upcoming weather patterns before officials decide whether the upcoming weather this weekend will warrant a second shut-off.

"We understand the hardship caused by these shut-offs and the safety issues that it brings with it, but we also understand the heartbreak and devastation of catastrophic wildfire. Those losses are forever, and we're determined to do everything in our power to prevent that," said Bill Johnson, the president and CEO of PG&E.

UPDATE, Oct. 23, 3 p.m.: PG&E began intentional blackouts Wednesday for 179,000 Northern California customers in 17 counties.

The Santa Rosa Fire Department shared on Twitter at 2:45 p.m. that customers in the Rincon Valley and Oakmont areas reported outages.

Shutoffs in the North Bay were scheduled to start around 3 p.m. Outages in affected areas of San Mateo County are planned for 1 a.m. Thursday.

In Napa County, a total of 7,488 customers will lose electricity in portions of Angwin, Calistoga, Deer Park, Lake Berryessa, Oakville, Pope Valley, Rutherford and St. Helena.

Sonoma County will see the power cut off to 26,845 customers in parts of Annapolis, Boyes Hot Springs, Cloverdale, Fulton, Geyserville, Glen Ellen, Guerneville, Healdsburg, Kenwood, Larkfield, Santa Rosa, Sonoma, Windsor and Stewarts Point.

In San Mateo County, only a small pocket of 372 customers in La Honda, San Gregorio, Woodside and unincorporated ares will lose power.

Customers may lose power even though they are not experiencing critical fire weather in their specific location. "This is because the electric system relies on power lines working together to provide electricity across cities, counties and regions," PG&E explained.

Forecasts show the high winds subsiding by noon Thursday, and after the weather has calmed, PG&E will inspect equipment for damage. The utility company says it hopes to have power restored "48 hours after the weather event has passed."

UPDATE: Oct. 23, 10 a.m.: PG&E announced Wednesday morning it's moving forward with power shutoffs for 179,000 customers in 17 counties: Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, El Dorado, Kern, Lake, Mendocino, Napa, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, San Mateo, Sierra, Sonoma, Tehama and Yuba.

Shutoffs will start Wednesday afternoon and continue into Thursday morning. "The shutoffs are expected to begin around 2 p.m. in the Sierra Foothills, 3 p.m. in the North Bay counties, and approximately 1 a.m. Thursday in affected areas of San Mateo and Kern counties," PG&E said.

The high winds are expected to subside at noon Thursday, and after the weather has calmed, PG&E will inspect equipment for damage. The utility company says it hopes to have power restored "48 hours after the weather event has passed."

Find a list counties and cities were customers will be impacted on the PG&E website. (Note: The website has been crashing off-and-on. PG&E says it's working on this issue.)

Customers may lose power even though they are not experiencing critical fire weather in their specific location. "This is because the electric system relies on power lines working together to provide electricity across cities, counties and regions," PG&E explained.

Impacted customers can utilize one of the many Community Resource Centers scheduled to open at 8 a.m. Thursday and stay open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. until the the shutoff has included. These are equipped with restrooms, electronic-device charging, bottled water and air-conditioning.

UPDATE: Oct. 23, 6 a.m.: If Pacific Gas & Electric shuts off the power to reduce wildfire risk in Napa and Sonoma counties, impacted customers will receive alerts via phone, text or email Wednesday morning.

High winds that can damage equipment are forecast to pick up at 5 p.m. and PG&E would begin to de-energize customers at roughly 2 p.m.

In Napa County, PG&E anticipates 7,488 customers could be impacted in parts of Angwin, Calistoga, Deer Park, Lake Berryessa, Oakville, Pope Valley, Rutherford, and St Helena, In Sonoma, 26,845 customers may be affected in portions of Annapolis, Boyes Hot Springs, Cloverdale, Fulton, Geyserville, Glen Ellen, Guerneville, Healdsburg, Kenwood, Larkfield, Santa Rosa, Sonoma, Windsor, and Stewarts Point.

If the power goes out in a small pocket of San Mateo County, it's likely to begin at 1 a.m. Thursday based on the current weather forecast. A shut-off could affect 372 customers in La Honda, San Gregorio, Woodside, and Unincorporated San Mateo County.

UPDATE: Oct. 22, 6 p.m.: Pacific Gas & Electric officials said Tuesday night that the scope of the customers who may lose power Wednesday has been narrowed "due changing weather information and the company's ability to sectionalize certain lines."

PG&E previously anticipated 201,000 customers in 16 counties would be effected in a pre-emptive shut-off to mitigate wildfire risk. The new number is 184,000 in 17 counties.

The utility company will make a call on whether to move forward with a shutoff Wednesday morning.

"We’re continuing to closely monitor the weather," PG&E President Bill Johnson said at the press conference. "No such event has formally been called. We expect to make that decision tomorrow morning."

PG&E expects the event could impact people in up to 17 counties in the Sierra Foothills and the North Bay — including Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, El Dorado, Kern, Lake, Mendocino, Napa, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, San Mateo Sierra, Sonoma, Tehama and Yuba.

Mark Quinlan, senior director of emergency preparedness and response, said the current forecast shows the peak wind risk in the North Bay beginning at 5 p.m. Wednesday and the de-energization sequence could begin at 3 p.m. If the power goes out in a small pocket of San Mateo County, it's likely to begin at 1 a.m. Thursday based on the current weather forecast.

"The all-clear is forecast for noon on Thursday," said Quinlan. "When we get the all-clear that’s when we begin restoring activities."

PG&E will release outage maps closer to the event, and advises customers to visit a new sister site dedicated to providing shutoff information: psps.ss.pge.com.

On Tuesday night, PG&E updated its list of cities that could potentially be impacted on Wednesday.

If a shut-off occurs, PG&E will open Community Resource Centers in several communities, offering restrooms, bottled water, electronic-device charging and air-conditioning. These will be open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., until power is restored.

The potential for an outage comes at a time of year when the landscape is dry and fires spark and spread easily. Northerly winds are expected to pick up Wednesday evening into Thursday morning in the hills of the East Bay and North Bay, delivering critical fire risk. Winds between 35 and 45 mph with some 55 mph gusts in localized areas are forecast for Sonoma and Napa counties.

Amy Graff is a digital editor for SFGATE. Email her at agraff@sfgate.com.