PG&E cuts gas to more homes even as power restored to some areas

Flames burn through a vineyard as a fast moving wind whipped wild fire raged though the Napa/Sonoma wine region. Blackouts occurred through a broad swath of the wine country, from Geyserville in the north to Napa in the south. less Flames burn through a vineyard as a fast moving wind whipped wild fire raged though the Napa/Sonoma wine region. Blackouts occurred through a broad swath of the wine country, from Geyserville in the north to ... more Photo: Peter DaSilva, Special To The Chronicle Photo: Peter DaSilva, Special To The Chronicle Image 1 of / 80 Caption Close PG&E cuts gas to more homes even as power restored to some areas 1 / 80 Back to Gallery

Pacific Gas and Electric Co. restored power Monday to some of its customers blacked out by the wildfires raging across Napa and Sonoma counties, but as the day wore on, the utility cut natural gas service to an increasing number of homes and businesses close to the flames.

By 4 p.m., 99,000 customers in the North Bay remained without power, down from 114,000 earlier in the day. Santa Rosa and St. Helena remained the hardest hit areas, according to a PG&E website that tracks outages. The blackouts occurred through a broad swath of the wine country, from Geyserville in the north to Napa in the south.

PG&E also cut off natural gas service in areas close to the fires, shutting down gas service to 30,000 customers in Kenwood, Napa, Santa Rosa, Yountville and in the stretch of Mendocino County from Calpella to Willits. The number of customers losing gas service grew through the afternoon.

PG&E was mobilizing employees — from within the Bay Area as well as other parts of the state — to converge on base camps in both Napa and Sonoma counties to assess damage and where possible restore power. In some cases, the utility cut power to lines in areas where firefighters were working, said spokeswoman Andrea Menniti.

But as of Monday afternoon, the utility still wasn’t sure how much of its equipment and infrastructure had been damaged, she said.

It also remained unknown whether PG&E’s power lines may have sparked some of the fires, either by toppling over in the high winds or coming into contact with swaying tree branches. As winds picked up Sunday, the utility posted warnings on social media for people to be on the lookout for downed utility poles and lines.

“We know it’s possible that power poles may have come down, and power lines,” Menitti said. “If you see a downed power line, stay away.”

The winds and fires also knocked out AT&T and Verizon cell phone and wireless Internet service to residents of Napa, Sonoma and Mendocino counties, according to the companies.

“Our engineers are aware of this issue and are working with our vendor partners to resolve this issue quickly,” said Verizon spokeswoman Heidi Flato.

Chronicle Staff Writer Katie Dowd contributed to this report.

David R. Baker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: dbaker@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @DavidBakerSF