PG&E plans power shutoffs as Dixie fire rages in Northern California

As the Dixie fire continues to rage, Pacific Gas & Electric Co. announced it could cut power for roughly 39,000 residents across 16 counties in Northern California on Tuesday night to reduce the risk of wildfires from energized power lines.

Strong southwest winds are expected to arrive in the northern part of the state beginning Monday, colliding with searing temperatures and parched vegetation — a cocktail of conditions known to stoke extreme fire behavior.

A red flag warning for the Dixie fire burn area will go into effect at 3 p.m. Monday and last through 10 p.m. Tuesday, with gusts expected to top out at 35 mph Tuesday. Temperatures will hover in the mid-90s, potentially hitting the low triple-digits in some areas.

PG&E has said its equipment may have sparked the massive Dixie fire, which broke out July 13 near the utility’s power station in Feather River Canyon, as well as another blaze that later merged with the Dixie fire.

As of Monday morning, the Dixie fire had leapt to a monstrous 569,707 acres, growing roughly 50,000 acres since Friday. After burning for more than a month, it is still only 31% contained. The blaze is the second-largest wildfire in California history.

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The utility said in a news release that the planned shutoffs are a preemptive step to tamp down risk amid the dangerous weather conditions.

Most of the residents in the potential shutoff area — about 27,000 — are in Butte and Shasta counties, PG&E said in a news release.

However, residents in 14 other counties — Glenn, Humboldt, Lake, Lassen, Mendocino, Napa, Plumas, Sierra, Solano, Sonoma, Tehama, Trinity, Yolo and Yuba — may also be affected.

The Dixie fire has already torched Plumas, Lassen, Tehama and Butte counties, forcing thousands to evacuate their homes.

The blaze leveled the remote Gold Rush town of Greenville and has destroyed at least 1,173 structures, including more than 630 homes, according to the latest incident report. More than 14,800 structures remain threatened by the flames.

Another blaze dubbed the Morgan fire merged with a northwestern portion of the Dixie fire on Sunday, growing it by several hundred acres, fire spokesperson David Janssen said.

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With fierce winds approaching, there is concern the blaze will continue its relentless expansion.

“A lot of these lines will be tested today,” Janssen said Monday, “and it’s going to be pushing pretty hard up there on that north end.”

Toward the north lies the Lassen National Forest, as well as the Lassen Volcanic National Park, where flames arrived in early August and forced the park’s closure.

“It’s a treasure up there,” Janssen said of the park, noting that the fire has rapidly expanded through forested areas.

The Dixie fire has destroyed more than $1 billion worth of timber, and an additional $1 billion is still threatened, according to the U.S. Forest Service.