Chances are you’ve experienced a loss of power at some point because of the weather, perhaps because of high winds that compromised a power line. If you live in California, that rare power outage could become a regular event. Recent reports in the Wall Street Journal and elsewhere say that PG&E Corp., which has been blamed for many of the state’s recent wildfires, plans to shut off power during windy periods in areas at risk for fire. The outages could last for up to five days at a time, the company says, and could affect at various times more than 5 million people.  

The company, which filed for bankruptcy earlier this year, is facing expenses of more than $30 billion from fires caused by its equipment, including from power lines coming into contact with vegetation.  

The intermittent outages could continue in some areas for up to five years, the amount of time PG&E estimates it will need to strengthen its system and clear trees and other vegetation in fire-prone areas. Critics say the company should have been investing more in maintenance and repairs all along. But several years of drought have resulted in more dry brush and dead trees than usual. In the May issue of Erosion Control, I wrote about a plan to thin the forests in an effort to reduce flammable deadwood. This “surgical thinning” procedure also has its critics, though, who say it might actually promote the wrong kind of growth and could result in more intense fires. 

Some facilities such as hospitals likely already have backup power generators in place, and PG&E says it will work with cities and counties to try to keep traffic lights, phone service, and water delivery working, although that might not be possible in every case.  The company has also said it will create “resilience zones”—areas served by generators in communities where power is cut off, so that at least some service providers can remain open, such as a police station, a grocery store, a gas station, and a place where people can charge cell phones.  

But that still leaves other residences and businesses in the dark, and the costs and losses—which PG&E does not plan to cover—will add up quickly. In October, for example, the company shut off power to about 60,000 people during a period of 50-mph winds; some were without power for almost three days. Hotels and restaurants catering to wine country tourists were among the businesses affected; owners recount in the WSJ article spoiled food thrown away and loss of revenue from cancelled reservations. Local officials are also questioning how they’ll protect those who depend on electrically powered medical devices such as respirators during prolonged blackouts.  

Still, some residents agree that, if they prevent more fires like last year’s Camp Fire—which destroyed the town of Paradise and killed 85 people, and which PG&E acknowledges was likely started by one of its high-voltage transmission lines—then the blackouts are worth the inconvenience.