PG&E Schedules Public Safety Power Shutoff for 2,053 Berkeley Customers as Dry Winds Raise Fire Danger

Pacific Gas and Electric Company notified the City of Berkeley on Wednesday that it plans to initiate a precautionary Public Safety Power Shutoff affecting approximately 2,053 electrical customer accounts across the Berkeley Hills beginning early Thursday morning. The utility's emergency meteorology center determined that dry northeasterly Diablo wind gusts exceeding 40 miles per hour, combined with critically low brush fuel moisture, present an unacceptably high risk of catastrophic wildfire ignition.

The designated de-energization boundary encompasses high-elevation residential streets stretching along Grizzly Peak Boulevard, Panoramic Way, Marin Avenue, and adjacent hillside corridors bordering Tilden Regional Park. Electric service is scheduled to be disconnected between 5:15 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. on Thursday and could remain suspended through Saturday afternoon, pending weather conditions and visual safety inspections of high-voltage distribution lines by certified utility aerial crews.

Berkeley municipal officials and emergency response leaders expressed acute concern for approximately 80 Medical Baseline customers who rely on uninterrupted electrical power for life-sustaining medical equipment, oxygen concentrators, or refrigerated medications. The Berkeley Department of Health, Housing, and Community Services has initiated direct telephone outreach and in-person welfare checks to verify that vulnerable residents have verified backup power arrangements, personal battery storage, or transportation assistance to regional cooling and medical shelter facilities.

In response to the multi-day electrical disruption, the City of Berkeley is opening a designated Community Resource Center at the North Berkeley Senior Center on Hearst Avenue, providing emergency electrical charging docks, Wi-Fi access, clean water, and on-site public health nurses. Berkeley Fire Department command personnel deployed additional brush patrol units along Panoramic Way to enforce parking restrictions on narrow mountain lanes, ensuring unimpeded access for fire engines and mutual-aid evacuation vehicles across the East Bay hill corridor.

Hillside residents are strongly advised to back vehicles into driveways, review designated neighborhood evacuation zone routes, and maintain non-perishable emergency food and water reserves for at least 72 hours. Berkeley residents can check their specific electrical service status through the utility's portal at pge.com/psps and register for critical neighborhood safety alerts by texting their residential zip code to 888777 for Alameda County emergency advisories.