North San Juan Fire Protection District

This is shaping up to be a significant wind event.

Cruzon Fire Contained

Increased likelihood of a PSPS this Saturday and Sunday.

Fire Weather Watch this weekend.

This is from the National Weather Service out of Reno. Red Flag Warning for The East side of the Sierras and West Nevada, but we are certainly feeling the increase in winds here. As a reminder with where we are in the year, be ready for evacuations and call 911 if you see a fire or new smoke that is not from the current fires burning. At North San Juan Fire, resources are stretched thin but firefighters are doing everything needed to ensure the District is covered and we are ready for a response. Stay safe out there.

It’s going to get smoky folks

There are currently NO fires or evacuation orders on the San Juan Ridge. The below is a list of Pre-Evacuation Preparation Steps. This post is for information sharing only. Some additional things to consider: Should a fire threaten the Ridge, some of our thoroughfares May not be accessible. Think contingency plans. Evacuating early can help ease congestion on the roads. ... If you are in an evacuation area, once you evacuate, you will not be able to return home until evacuation orders have been lifted. Consider safety zones; areas that are open, green, not closely surrounded by vegetation. For example; Oak Tree Field, and areas in the Diggings. You do not have to wait for someone to tell you to evacuate. If you feel unsafe, evacuate. Law enforcement and fire resources will be working hard to get people out, let them do their job. During a fire and/or evacuation, adrenaline and tension will be high, be kind and considerate, we will all need to work together. See more

PG&E Community Resource Center locations listed below.

The large plume hanging over us is very unsettling indeed. This wind event has spurred the fire activity in the North Complex, causing a blowout where the Claremont fire was. At this time, the Ridge is not in danger from the North Complex Fire. As the crow flies, the fire is over 22 miles from the Ridge, and the winds are favoring a more South Western track. However, the wind event is not over yet and one thing this fire season has taught us is that fire activity is intense. Stay vigilent, stay calm, and please avoid spreading information that may incite panic and has not been verified.

The large plume visible on the Ridge is from a fire burning in the Pumas National Forest.

Below are some tips from PE&E to prepare for the potential Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS). Additionally, if you will be using a back up generator, only operate outdoors to ensure it is well ventilated, and do not operate close to vegetation. Try to avoid the use of candles and kerosene lamps, instead opt for battery and solar powered lighting if possible. The Red Flag Warning that is prompting the potential PSPS is supposed to begin Monday night and last through Wednesday morning. Please remember; PG&E will require time to inspect lines before restoring power to our area, which means power may not be restored for up to 12 hours after the Red Flag Warning has been lifted. Please take extra safety precautions.

* Amid Extreme Heat, Forecasted Offshore Dry Wind Event Means PG&E Might Need to Proactively Turn Off Power for Safety in Portions of 18 Counties * Customers W...ho Might Be Affected by the Public Safety Power Shutoff Are Receiving 24-Hour Notifications This Evening * State Grid Operator’s Flex Alert Remains in Effect, Calling for Power Conservation from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. * PG&E continues to monitor a potentially widespread, strong and dry offshore wind event forecasted to start Monday evening and continue through mid-day Wednesday. Given the expected conditions, PG&E began its 24-hour advance notifications to customers in areas where PG&E may need to proactively turn power off for safety to reduce the risk of wildfire from energized power lines. Sunday & Monday Flex Alert: Energy Conservation Needed 3:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. The extreme weather is also increasing demand on the statewide electric grid. Separate from any Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) event, the state’s grid operator has issued a Flex Alert, a voluntary call for energy conservation to help balance power supply with demand. That Flex Alert runs from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. today and tomorrow. Potential Public Safety Power Shutoff for Monday and Tuesday The potential PSPS starting Monday evening could impact approximately 103,000 customers in portions of 18 counties in the Sierra foothills and North Bay. Specifically, customers in portions of the following counties are being notified: Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, El Dorado, Humboldt, Kern, Lake, Lassen, Napa, Nevada, Plumas, Shasta, Sierra, Sonoma, Tehama, Trinity and Yuba. The potential PSPS event is still approximately 24 hours away. PG&E’s in-house meteorologists, as well as its Wildfire Safety Operation Center and Emergency Operations Center, continue to monitor conditions closely and additional customer notifications will be shared over the next few days. Customer notificationsvia text, email and automated phone callbegan late Saturday afternoon, approximately 48 hours prior to the potential shutoff. Customers enrolled in the company’s Medical Baseline program who do not verify that they have received these important safety communications will be individually visited in person by a PG&E employee when possible. A primary focus will be given to customers who rely on electricity for critical life-sustaining equipment. Potentially Impacted Counties and Cities The potential shutoff is currently expected to impact approximately 103,000 customers in the following 18 counties, including: - Alpine County: 572 customers, including 6 medical baseline customers, in unincorporated areas - Amador County: 5,319 customers, including 380 medical baseline customers, in unincorporated areas - Butte County: 12,798 customers, including 1,072 medical baseline customers, in Butte Meadows, Chico, Oroville, Paradise and unincorporated areas - Calaveras County: 10,396 customers, including 401 medical baseline customers, in unincorporated areas - El Dorado County: 24,658 customers, including 1,532 medical baseline customers, in Kelsey, Placerville and unincorporated areas - Humboldt County: 664 customers, including 21 medical baseline customers, in unincorporated areas - Kern County: 754 customers, including 37 medical baseline customers, in Bakersfield and unincorporated areas - Lake County: 24 customers, including 0 medical baseline customers, in unincorporated areas - Lassen County: 582 customers, including 27 medical baseline customers, in unincorporated areas - Napa County: 5,656 customers, including 186 medical baseline customers, in Calistoga, Saint Helena and unincorporated areas - Nevada County: 22,251 customers, including 1,203 medical baseline customers, in Nevada City and unincorporated areas - Plumas: 10,879 customers, including 458 medical baseline customers, in unincorporated areas - Shasta County: 2,740 customers, including 225 medical baseline customers, in unincorporated areas - Sierra County: 1,098 customers, including 20 medical baseline customers, in unincorporated areas - Sonoma County: 210 customers, including 5 medical baseline customers, in Cloverdale, Rohnert Park and unincorporated areas - Tehama County: 1,226 customers, including 56 medical baseline customers, in unincorporated areas - Trinity County: 436 customers, including 23 medical baseline customers, in unincorporated areas - Yuba County: 2,340 customers, including 183 medical baseline customers, in unincorporated areas Customers can look up their address online to find out if their location is being monitored for the potential safety shutoff at https://bit.ly/3lYUlcz. Public Safety Power Shutoffs: What PG&E Customers Should Know Why PG&E Calls a PSPS Event: Due to forecasted extreme weather conditions, PG&E is considering proactively turning off power for safety. Windy conditions, like those being forecast, increase the potential for damage and hazards to the electric infrastructure, which could cause sparks if lines are energized. These conditions also increase the potential for rapid fire spread. State officials classify more than half of PG&E’s 70,000-square-mile service area in Northern and Central California as having a high fire threat, given dry grasses and the high volume of dead and dying trees. The state’s high-risk areas have tripled in size in seven years. No single factor drives a PSPS, as each situation is unique. PG&E carefully reviews a combination of many criteria when determining if power should be turned off for safety. These factors generally include, but are not limited to: - Low humidity levels, generally 20 percent and below - Forecasted sustained winds generally above 25 mph and wind gusts in excess of approximately 45 mph, depending on location and site-specific conditions such as temperature, terrain and local climate - A Red Flag Warning declared by the National Weather Service - Condition of dry fuel on the ground and live vegetation (moisture content) - On-the-ground, real-time observations from PG&E’s Wildfire Safety Operations Center and observations from PG&E field crews Smaller, Shorter, Smarter PSPS events PG&E is learning from past PSPS events, and this year will be making events smaller in size, shorter in length and smarter for customers. - Smaller in Size: This year, PG&E expects to reduce the number of customers affected by a PSPS event by one-third compared to last year. o Installing approximately 600 devices that limit the size of outages so fewer communities are without power. o Installing microgrids that use generators to keep the electricity on. o Placing lines underground in targeted locations. o Using better weather monitoring technology and installing new weather stations. - Shorter in Length: To make events shorter, PG&E expects to restore customers twice as fast by: o Expanding its helicopter fleet and using new airplanes with infrared equipment to inspect at night. o Deploying more PG&E and contractor crews to inspect equipment and restore service. - Smarter for Customers: In order to make events smarter for customers, PG&E is: o Providing more information and resources by improving the website bandwidth and customer notifications, opening Community Resource Centers and working with local agencies and critical service providers. o Providing more assistance before, during and after a PSPS event by working with community-based organizations to support customers with medical needs making it easier for eligible customers to join and stay in the Medical Baseline program. New for 2020: Improved Watch and Warning Notifications In response to customer feedback requesting more information as soon as possible to ensure they have time to prepare for and plan in advance of a potential PSPS event, PG&E will provide improved Watch and Warning notifications this year. Whenever possible, an initial Watch notification will be sent two days in advance of a potential PSPS event. One day before the potential PSPS event, an additional Watch notification will go out, notifying customers of the possibility of a PSPS event in their area based on forecasted conditions. This is what is being sent to customers this evening. A PSPS Watch will be upgraded to a Warning when forecasted conditions show that a safety shutoff will be needed, and that it is going to happen soon. Whenever possible, Warning notifications will be sent approximately four to 12 hours in advance of the power being shut off. Both Watch and Warning notifications are directly tied to the weather forecast, which can change rapidly. As an example of how notifications have been improved for 2020, customers will see the date and time when power is estimated to be shut off as well as the estimated time when their power will be restored, all provided two days before the power goes out. Last year, the estimated time of restoration was not provided until the power had been turned off. Here’s Where to Go to Learn More - PG&E’s emergency website (www.pge.com/pspsupdates) is now available in seven languages. Currently, the website is available in English, Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog, Russian, Vietnamese, Korean, Farsi, Arabic, Hmong, Khmer, Punjabi and Japanese. Customers will have the opportunity to choose their language of preference for viewing the information when visiting the website. - Customers are encouraged to update their contact information and indicate their preferred language for notifications by visiting https://bit.ly/2GCX8rV or by calling 1-800-742-5000, where in-language support is available. - Tenants and non-account holders can sign up to receive PSPS ZIP Code Alerts for any area where you do not have a PG&E account by visiting https://bit.ly/2F8byzI. - PG&E has launched a new tool at its online Safety Action Center (https://bit.ly/338fTv3) to help customers prepare. By using the "Make Your Own Emergency Plan" tool and answering a few short questions, visitors to the website can compile and organize the important information needed for a personalized family emergency plan. This includes phone numbers, escape routes and a family meeting location if an evacuation is necessary. Community Resource Centers Reflect COVID-Safety Protocols PG&E will open Community Resource Centers (CRCs) in every county where a PSPS occurs. While a PSPS is an important safety tool to reduce the risk of major wildfires during severe weather, PG&E understands that losing power disrupts lives, especially for customers sheltering-at-home in response to COVID-19. These temporary CRCs will be open to customers when power is out at their homes and will provide ADA-accessible restrooms and hand-washing stations; medical-equipment charging; Wi-Fi; bottled water; and non-perishable snacks. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, all CRCs will follow important health and safety protocols including: - Facial coverings and maintaining a physical distance of at least six feet from those who are not part of the same household will be required at all CRCs. - Temperature checks will be administered before entering CRCs that are located indoors. - CRC staff will be trained in COVID-19 precautions and will regularly sanitize surfaces and use Plexiglass barriers at check-in. - All CRCs will follow county and state requirements regarding COVID-19, including limits on the number of customers permitted indoors at any time. Besides these health protocols, customers visiting a CRC in 2020 will experience further changes, including a different look and feel. In addition to using existing indoor facilities, PG&E is planning to open CRCs at outdoor, open-air sites in some locations and use large commercial vans as CRCs in other locations. The CRC to be used will depend on a number of factors, including input from local and tribal leaders. Supplies also will be handed out in grab-and-go bags at outdoor CRCs so most customers can be on their way quickly. How customers can prepare for a PSPS As part of PSPS preparedness efforts, PG&E suggests customers: - Plan for medical needs like medications that require refrigeration or devices that need power. - Identify backup charging methods for phones and keep hard copies of emergency numbers. - Build or restock your emergency kit with flashlights, fresh batteries, first aid supplies and cash. - Keep in mind family members who are elderly, younger children and pets. About the Flex Alert and Need for Power Conservation The state’s grid operator has issued a Flex Alert, based on a forecast of increased power demand due to expected high temperatures. Customers are asked to reduce their energy use today and tomorrow from 3 p.m. until 9 p.m., when air conditioners drive consumption. By doing so, customers can help make sure the state has enough supply to meet demand for electricity. A Flex Alert is an urgent call by the California Independent System Operator to conserve electricity and shift demand to off-peak hours. Conservation can generate 1,000 megawatts or more in electricity savings statewideequal to the output of two large power plants. Some helpful tips for conserving power: - Avoid using electrical appliances and devices from 3 p.m. until 9 p.m. Put off tasks such as vacuuming, laundry, dish washing and computer time until after 9 p.m. - Adjust your thermostat to 78 degrees or higher or turn it off if you will be away from home. Use a fan instead of air conditioning when possible. - Draw drapes and turn off unnecessary lighting. - Limit the opening of refrigerators, which is a major user of electricity in most homes. The average refrigerator is opened 33 times a day. - Keep refrigerator full (with bottles of water if nothing else) and unplug your second refrigerator, if you have one. - Avoid using the oven. Instead, cook on the stove, use a microwave or grill outside if you can do so safely. Set your pool pump to run overnight instead of during the day.

Red Flag Warning begins late Monday evening North/east winds are forecast to develop at this time, and combined with low relative humidity values & dry fuels (which are becoming increasingly drier by the day), critical fire weather conditions are expected.