Hundreds of thousands of California homes and businesses started to lose electric power today as part of an unprecedented effort by Pacific Gas and Electric Co. to prevent wildfires, Reuters reported. Nearly 800,000 northern and central California homes and businesses can expect to lose electricity for up to several days, starting today, PG&E said. State investigators determined in May that PG&E transmission lines had caused last year’s Camp Fire. That fire killed 85 people, making it the deadliest in California’s history. The company had already filed for bankruptcy protection by then, citing potential liabilities of more than $30 billion from the Camp Fire and the 2017 North Bay Fires. Conditions before the fires were about the same then as they are now in the region. Gale-force winds are expected to last through midday Thursday, with gusts up to 70 miles per hour, PG&E said. Humidity is low, leaving the air extremely dry.
