High Winds Knock Out Power to Thousands Across Del Norte and Humboldt Counties
Photo of PG&E crews work near the north end of Tompkins Hill Road after a tree fell into power lines in March of 2023. [Photo by Mark McKenna]
At 4:12 a.m., the Del Norte Office of Emergency Services reported that “much of the county is without power at this hour due to wind related incidents.” Officials advised residents that restoration times may vary depending on location and directed customers to Pacific Power’s outage map for updates.
Some service was briefly restored in Crescent City before going out again. At 6:17 a.m., Pacific Power reported, “Power was restored to over 10,000 customers in the Crescent City area, but has now gone down again. We have received reports of multiple trees on lines and high winds in the area. Our crews will continue to work until power is restored to all customers.”
As of early morning, a large portion of the Crescent City area is without electricity.
In Humboldt County, approximately 1,000 PG&E customers were also without power, according to their outage map. The largest outage appeared in the Pine Hill area west of Eureka, where PG&E said the restoration time was “to be determined.” The utility reported that crews are responding to storm-related emergencies and will begin repairs once extreme weather conditions ease. The stated cause of that outage was a tree making contact with a power line.
All reported outages appeared to be storm-related.
The U.S. National Weather Service in Eureka has issued a High Wind Warning in effect until 10 a.m. today for Del Norte Interior, Southwestern Humboldt, Northern Humboldt Interior, and Southern Humboldt Interior, including areas such as Kneeland, Petrolia, and Whitethorn.
Forecasters warned of southeast winds of 30 to 40 mph with gusts up to 70 mph, and up to 80 mph over high, exposed terrain. The agency cautioned that damaging winds are likely to blow down trees and power lines, leading to widespread power outages. Travel may be difficult, especially along windward ridges and exposed coastal headlands.
Utility crews are responding, but restoration times could shift depending on weather conditions and the extent of storm damage.
Join the discussion! For rules visit: https://kymkemp.com/commenting-rules
Comments system how-to: https://wpdiscuz.com/community/postid/10599/
So far, Klamath still has power.
Fingers crossed. Gusty winds most of the night.
The NWS issued this.
WHAT…Flooding caused by excessive rainfall is possible.
* WHERE…A portion of northwest California, including the following areas, Coastal Del Norte, Del Norte Interior, Mendocino Coast, Northeastern Mendocino Interior, Northern Humboldt Coast, Northern Humboldt Interior, Northern Lake, Northern Trinity, Northwestern Mendocino Interior, Southeastern Mendocino Interior, Southern Humboldt Interior, Southern Lake, Southern Trinity, Southwestern Humboldt and Southwestern Mendocino Interior.
* WHEN…From Monday evening through Tuesday evening.
Goldilocks weather (54F) by the EHS Sunday morning.
I live on the south end of Eureka, and we were without power from 8:00 last night until around 7:45 this morning. I would like to give the PG&E crews a HUGH THANK YOU. They have been working nonstop trying very hard to get our power back up. They have been working in the freezing temperatures, rain, snow and high winds. It is a dangerous job, but they will continue on until everyone has power. Stay safe to all the PG&E crews still working in those rotten conditions. I would like to say THANK YOU again for getting my power up. You have provided me with lights and heat keeping my home warm. Be safe to all the crews still out there on the line working. I can’t thank you enough!
Thought it might be worse. We got fairly lucky again. Thank you as always to all those folks out keeping the goodies on!
PGE’s refusal to invest and spend the money to underground the powerlines for us regular peeps and instead deliver massive financial returns to greedy investors is the real story. Heroic blue collar lineman doing more “emergency” repairs notwithstanding!
With all the power lines just in Humboldt County can you imagine the cost to bury every single wire. There are areas where this is just not feasible.
That works fine for the cities. Doesn’t work at all in the hills.
PG&E, if you haven’t seen their trucks around town have been totally focusing on getting everything underground since this new general manager came into place. Leave it to a woman.