Update: 12,000 Still Without Power In Two County Region
Update at 12:45pm: Due to power restoration efforts, PG&E crews will be closing Confidence Road in Tuolumne County from Cedar Springs Road to Mount Provo Road from 1-8pm today (December 29). No vehicles will be allowed to pass through. More information about power restoration efforts can be found below.
Original story posted at 12:24pm: Tuesday there were over 15,000 PG&E customers between Tuolumne and Calaveras counties still without electricity, and the number is now down to 12,000.
We reported yesterday that access is the biggest challenge, and PG&E brought in buggies, snowcats and bulldozers to help get into areas impacted by heavy snow and downed trees.
PG&E spokesperson Megan McFarland reports that the new storm system today is hampering some of the progress made yesterday. She adds, “We continue to bring in more crews to add support and have also activated our mutual aid agreement to get help from other utilities.”
It remains unclear when there will be full restoration. Tuolumne County has 5,700 customers without power and Calaveras County has 6,300. The areas still hardest hit are around Arnold, Twain Harte, Mi Wuk Village and Railroad Flat. There is also a new outage today impacting a wide area around Columbia.
