Pacific Gas and Electric began cutting power Wednesday evening, Oct. 14, in parts of the East Bay hills around Mount Diablo State Park, Diablo Foothills Regional Park and Cull Creek, CBS San Francisco reported, as dry offshore winds raised wildfire risk across higher elevations. Just before 6 p.m., the utility's outage map showed hundreds of customers already dark in those areas, with restoration listed into Saturday, Oct. 17.

Separately, Livermore Patch reported that large stretches of the hills around Danville and San Ramon — including portions of Diablo and Blackhawk, the Mount Diablo foothills, and rural areas west of Danville and east of Camino Tassajara — were scheduled for a Public Safety Power Shutoff starting between about 5:30 and 7 p.m. Wednesday and lasting until about 2 p.m. Saturday. Exact blocks can change hour by hour; PG&E tells customers to check their address on the utility's PSPS and outage maps rather than rely on neighborhood-wide summaries.

How many people are in the watch

In a Wednesday press release, PG&E said about 88,000 customers in 29 counties were in scope for the statewide event, including roughly 1,605 in Contra Costa County and 4,705 in Alameda County, plus thousands more in Napa, Sonoma, Solano and Lake counties. About 5,500 of those statewide customers are on the Medical Baseline program. KQED reported that Bay Area counties together account for roughly 11,000 of the notified accounts.

Those county totals cover a wider watch than the first blocks that went dark Wednesday evening. Our earlier coverage tracked a possible Thursday morning shutoff in the Berkeley and Oakland hills and a growing North Bay watch; Wednesday's Tri-Valley and Mount Diablo cutoffs are the first confirmed de-energizations in this Bay Area round.

Why PG&E is cutting power

The National Weather Service has flagged elevated to near-critical fire weather in higher elevations of the North Bay interior mountains and East Bay hills through Friday, with exceptionally dry air and poor overnight moisture recovery. CBS and Patch both cited peak gusts that can top roughly 40 mph in the strongest North Bay spots, with Tri-Valley forecasts calling for gusts around 25 to 35 mph Wednesday night through Friday morning and inland highs climbing into the 80s and 90s.

PG&E uses Public Safety Power Shutoffs as a last resort when wind and dryness raise the chance that power lines could spark a wildfire. A utility spokesperson told KQED that once lines are de-energized, crews must wait for the weather window to close, then patrol by foot and helicopter before restoring service — which is why these outages often last longer than ordinary local faults.

Where to get help while the power is out

PG&E said it planned more than 40 Community Resource Centers across the affected counties, with device charging, Wi-Fi, water, snacks, blankets and ADA-accessible restrooms. Patch reported East Bay centers open Wednesday from 4 to 10 p.m. outside the Costco in Danville, at Moraga Valley Presbyterian Church (10 Moraga Valley Lane) and at a UC Berkeley site listed as 1 Tanglewood Road. Hours and locations can shift; use PG&E's "Ways We Can Help" tools for the latest list.

Customers who need extra support can call 211, text PSPS to 211, or visit 211.org. PG&E also urges people to charge phones and medical devices, stock flashlights (not candles), keep refrigerators closed, and never run generators indoors or in enclosed spaces. Treat all downed lines as live and call 911 to report them.

For address-level status, use PG&E's PSPS updates page and outage map. Conditions and boundaries can change through Saturday.