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(CNN) - Two California utilities said they could cut power to more than 900,000 customers from midnight Wednesday and in the following days due to dry winds that could affect power lines and cause fires.
San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo on Monday urged residents and businesses to prepare for being without power for a week and warned that the cuts could affect nearly 2 million people.
Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) and Southern California Edison on Tuesday raised the number of customers who could run out of electricity from 600,000 to almost 800,000, which would affect 34 counties in the north, center and coast of the state. This would begin in northern counties just after midnight on Wednesday.
This PG&E map shows areas of California that could be affected by power outages.
Southern California Edison said he was considering cutting power to more than 100,000 customers in eight counties. Companies have not told how many people will affect the cuts in total.
"Given the prolonged period during which the wind event will take place, and the large number of miles of power lines to be inspected before restoration, customers are asked to prepare for a prolonged cut," PG&E said in a statement.
The state utility companies developed “public safety power outage” plans as a “preventive measure of last resort” for when they believe there is a real risk that power lines will fall in dry and windy conditions, according to the California Public Services Commission.
PG&E said earlier that it is "likely" that his team will start the 2018 fire known as Camp Fire - the deadliest and most destructive ever recorded in California - when a power line touched nearby trees.
An investigation by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection found the company responsible for the fire, which killed 85 people and destroyed thousands of structures.
'Red flag' alert
The National Meteorological Service issued a “red flag” alert for Wednesday and Thursday, warning of possible “extreme weather conditions of fire” for the “Northern coastal mountain range and foothills, the Sacramento Valley, the northern San Valley Joaquin and northern Sierra Nevada and foothills below 6000 feet. ”
“The conditions are perfect: dry fuel, strong winds, warm event. Any spark can create a significant event, ”Ray Riordan, director of the Office of Emergency Management in San Jose, said Tuesday at a press conference.
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said Wednesday that its firefighters are “preparing personnel” and warned that “we need Californians not to be complacent,” since “some of the most destructive and deadly fires” occur between October and December.
The city of San José had been preparing for a similar event since June, the mayor said.
"In fact, something we have to do to prepare takes years," he said. "That is to ensure that we have enough backup power generation, establishing micro-networks where we can do it, things of that nature."
Companies and authorities asked residents to prepare emergency kits with flashlights and new batteries, first aid supplies and cash, and to plan for medical needs and devices that will need energy.
Liccardo urged residents to take refuge in the place, since the street lights and signs will not work if there is no electricity. He also encouraged households to create emergency plans and kits that include food and water for all family members and pets.
Areas near wild lands are at the greatest risk of a power outage, said San Jose city deputy director Kip Harkness, but homes within that distribution system will be affected, even if they are not close to wild lands
"All of that should be turned off as a single unit," Harkness said.
At the end of last month, PG&E cut off electricity to more than 48,000 customers in Northern California as a precaution in dry and windy conditions. It was the second consecutive power outage in that week after cuts that affected some 24,000 customers in three northern counties.
The utility giant announced last month that it had reached a $ 11 billion deal with insurance companies for claims arising from the devastating forest fires of 2017 in Northern California and the Camp Fire of 2018.
That followed a payment of $ 1 billion in damages to local governments in June for fires related to their power lines and other equipment.
CNN's Cheri Mossburg and Carma Hassan contributed to this report.
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