[UPDATE 7:15 p.m.: PG&E Says About 5,000 Without Power Now] Power Outage Strikes Humboldt County

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However, at 7:25 a.m., Humboldt County Office of Emergency Services posted, “This morning PG&E confirmed that Humboldt County lost power due to transmission lines being impacted by winter weather. PG&E has stated that restoration work has already begun and that most of Humboldt County should regain power by mid-late morning.”

We will update as more information comes in.

UPDATE 8:44 a.m.: According to PowerOutage.US, about 65,350 customers out of 81,516 in Humboldt County are without power. Nearby Trinity County is also affected with about 764 PG&E customers without power.

UPDATE 9:40 a.m.: According to Open Door Community Health Centers,

Open Door Community Health Center locations in Ferndale, Fortuna, Arcata, are operating under generator power and services are unaffected by the current power outage.

All but one of our Eureka health centers are operational and seeing patients as usual. Patients of Redwood Community Health Center are being seen at other nearby sites; patients should call (707) 443-4593 to confirm where they will be seen.

UPDATE 9:45 a.m.: According to Supervisor Estelle Fennell,

Three of the 4 transmissions lines supplying power to the entire county are down due to heavy snow load however PG&E is actively working to restore power and anticipates power restoration to the coast and metropolitan areas within a couple of hours.
FYI, Please Note: areas of Southern Humboldt that were affected by yesterday’s storm damage (downed trees etc.) will still have to wait until those issues have been repaired.

UPDATE 10:24 a.m.: PG&E is now backing away on their mid to late morning prediction on restoring power to most of Humboldt County according to a tweet by Senator Mike McGuire. He tweeted, “[PG&E] is now reporting that full restoration of the Humboldt power outage will take place this afternoon.”

Just a couple minutes before that, Humboldt County Office of Emergency Services tweeted, “Power is returning to many Humboldt County residents. PG&E has advised us that there could be additional power impacts due to continuing winter conditions. During the winter, residents should be prepared for sudden power loss and other impacts caused by wind and snow.”

UPDATE 10:34 a.m.: According to PowerOutage.US, now just under 50,000 customers are without power. This means about 15,000 customers have had power restored in the last two hours.

UPDATE 12:16 p.m.: According to a PG&E spokesperson, Deanna Contreras,

The safety of our customers, crews and communities is our most important responsibility. PG&E crews are working safely and as quickly as possible to assess the transmission outage impacting approximately 67,000 customers in Humboldt County today, Friday, Jan. 17.

As of 11:00 a.m., about 31,000 customers had been restored, leaving about 36,000 out of power.

PG&E has multiple transmission, distribution and substation crews working on the restoration. PG&E will be flying helicopters this morning to do aerial inspections of transmission lines. At this time, we do not have an estimated time of restoration.

The Humboldt area has experienced severe weather conditions this week, including heavy snowfall. Snow is 6- to 7-feet deep in some locations, plus there is fog this morning.

Some crews are utilizing Sno-Cat to reach equipment in that needs to be repaired in difficult to access conditions. As a result of these outages, CAISO has issued a Transmission Emergency notice for Northern California from 6 a.m. until midnight.

This is the lowest emergency level. It is declared for any event threatening or limiting transmission grid capability, including line or transformer overloads or loss. (The California Independent System Operator runs the grid in California.)

We appreciate the patience of our customers as we work to restore power.

UPDATE 12:38 p.m.: PG&E’sDeanna Contreras just issued another update:

As of 12:30, there are about 25,000 customers out of power. PG&E has multiple transmission, distribution and substation crews working on the restoration. PG&E has dispatched crews from Marin, Napa and Sonoma Counties to help with the restoration. PG&E has begun flying helicopters this morning to do aerial inspections of transmission lines.

At this time, we do not have an estimated time of restoration.

The Humboldt area has experienced severe weather conditions this week, including heavy snowfall. PG&E meteorologists report a wind gust of 60 mph in one location with gusts of 30-40 mph in many areas. The storm produced several feet of new snow in some areas, and PG&E crews have found the snowpack to be 6- to 7-feet deep in some locations.

The snow level was down to 1,000 feet at times. Most locations above 2,000 feet, and in some places even lower in elevation, saw accumulating snow.

Some crews are utilizing Sno-Cat to reach equipment that needs to be repaired in difficult to access locations. As a result of these outages, CAISO has issued a Transmission Emergency notice for Northern California from 6 a.m. until midnight. This is the lowest emergency level. It is declared for any event threatening or limiting transmission grid capability, including line or transformer overloads or loss. (The California Independent System Operator runs the grid in California.)

We appreciate the patience of our customers as we work to restore power.

UPDATE 2:21 p.m.: PG&E spokesperson Deanna Contreras wrote, “As of 2 p.m., there about fewer than 5,000 customers in Humboldt County out of power. There are currently about 1100 customers in Leggett and Laytonville (Mendocino County) who are without power due to outages that started yesterday….Restoration work will continue this afternoon and into the evening. The winter storm caused multiple incidents of damage include a broken pole, a damaged transmission tower and downed wires.”

UPDATE 7:15 p.m.: “Power has [been] restored to essentially everyone who was impacted by this morning’s outages.  As of 4pm, there are fewer than 4,000 customers in Humboldt County without power.”