- Power shut-offs due to extreme fire weather are relatively new to the Pacific Northwest.
- The proactive power shutoffs were just the second for Portland General Electric ever.
- Utility companies say they are keeping in touch with affected customers via email, text and social media.
Wildfire fears and power outage concerns weren’t just confined to California on Friday. In Oregon, the threat of high winds prompted intentional power outages that could affect tens of thousands of customers.
The power cuts made by local utilities are part of an effort to lessen the risk of wildfires in extremely dry and hot conditions. Power shut-offs due to extreme fire weather, common in California, are relatively new to the Pacific Northwest.
The Cedar Creek Fire in central Oregon was of particular concern Friday: “The east winds are pushing the fire west and we’re definitely going to have very, very difficult fire conditions until the end of the day Saturday,” Cedar Creek Fire spokesman Bud Sexton said.
Tens of thousands expected to lose power
A “Public Safety Power Shutoff” is used by utility companies when conditions, such as high wind, are forecast in areas with increased wildfire risk, according to OregonLive.com. “Power is shut off in those areas to help decrease the possibility that downed power lines could start or worsen a wildfire,” the website said.
More than 40,000 customers, including in Portland’s posh West Hills neighborhood, would likely lose power by late Friday in planned shutoffs as winds of up to 60 mph hit some areas and temperatures hovered in the high 80s and low 90s.
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Evacuations possible
Schools in the areas with planned power outages canceled classes and authorities urged residents to charge cellphones and be ready to evacuate at a moment’s notice.
The proactive power shutoffs were just the second ever for Portland General Electric. The utility shut down power to 5,000 customers in 2020 near Mount Hood during firestorms that ravaged the state.
Utility companies say they are keeping in touch with affected customers via email, text and social media, as well as through their websites, OregonLive said.
Role of climate change
Climate change is bringing drier conditions to the Pacific Northwest and that requires strategies that have been common in fire-prone California for the past decade or more, said Erica Fleishman, director of the Oregon Climate Change Research Institute at Oregon State University.
Contributing: The Statesman-Journal; The Associated Press