Monitoring Wildfire Conditions in Northern California
GIC activated to Level 3 – Enhanced Monitoring on 8-June for monitoring wildfire conditions in the Central Valley and areas north of San Francisco in California. The National Weather Service has issued Red Flag Warnings & Fire Weather Watches to alert of the onset, or possible onset, of critical weather and dry conditions that could lead to rapid or dramatic increases in wildfire activity.
Pacific Gas & Electric has shut off power Saturday to about 1,600 customers in Northern California and may do the same for thousands more to reduce the risk of wildfires. The utility announced Friday night that as of Saturday morning it will turn off electricity to customers in Napa, Solano and Yolo counties west of Sacramento. The utility said it also will monitor conditions in parts of the Sierra foothills Saturday night through Sunday when they will be at peak fire risk. The company said it could decide to cut power for up to 30,000 customers in Butte, Yuba, Nevada, El Dorado and Placer counties.
A few small fires have already had local officials call for some mandatory evacuations. GIC will continue to monitor conditions. If requirements for aerial imagery over these areas arises as conditions worsen, please reach out to graysky@geointel.org.