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City spokesman Matthai Chakko said about 7,000 PG&E customers in Berkeley — which by some estimates represents 21,000 people — could lose power this weekend in the shutoff. See the latest.
We’re keeping a close eye today on weather-related incidents in Berkeley.
The warning affects areas above about 1,000 feet in elevation, which includes some of the Berkeley Hills.
Electricity has been restored for most of Alameda County too.
PG&E gave the “all clear” to begin restoration in Alameda County at 3 p.m. But UC Berkeley has canceled classes for Friday.
Hundreds of Twitter users accused the city of telling residents with disabilities to fend for themselves during the outage. Berkeley says that doesn’t reflect what’s happening on the ground.
After power was shut off to UC Berkeley and thousands of homes and businesses starting at 11 p.m. on Oct. 9, Berkeleyans found ways to cope.
About 3,500 homes and businesses in Berkeley are without power as of early Thursday.
Swaths of Northern California are already in the dark. North Berkeley and the hills could be affected this evening.
Only parts of Berkeley will be affected, including the hills and the Cal campus.
‘PG&E has completely bungled it,’ said Berkeley Councilwoman Lori Droste. She wasn’t alone in her reaction to the confusing information about the power shutdown.
The utility said it has decided to implement the “public safety power shutoff” it began warning about Monday.
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