PG&E staging in parts of California, including Central Coast, ahead of storm system

SALINAS, Calif. (KION-TV) -- PG&E is preparing ahead of power outages expected from what they're referring to as a "potent" storm system heading toward parts of the state.

The company said a wave of moderate to heavy rain and gusty winds is expected to the north, with snow expected to fall Saturday into Sunday.

Impacted areas include El Dorado, Nevada, North Coast, Peninsula, Central Coast and the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valley counties.

Some places could see several feet of snow above 5,000 feet in elevation and six to 12 inches at around 2,000 feet.

PG&E is mobilizing crews as rain and wind start trickling their way into the central coast.

“Trees are a big concern, especially in areas like Pacific Grove." PG&E PIO Stephanie Magallon said. "We saw a lot of trees come down in the community during the last storm. These are trees that already endured a lot of extreme weather conditions. We are expecting to see some outages in that area because of more falling trees.” 

PG&E said it's important not to touch downed wires and make sure you have a backup phone or charger ahead of storm events.

“From the last storm my neighbor experienced the power outage and I experienced a WiFi internet outage which did impact my ability to work," said county resident Ana Ingram. "I think when it did go out I tried the WiFi in my car but that didn’t work so I figured out where I had to go.” 

Some of the vulnerable spots PG&E said they're paying attention to is the Santa Cruz Mountains, but also along the Peninsula.

The intersection of Lighthouse and 17-mile drive in Pacific Grove has power lines and trees that intertwine throughout the community. With an approaching storm, concerns rise about the potential threat of trees falling onto the power lines.

“The way I prepare for the storms here, especially working in downtown Pacific Grove is to shut everything down," said owner of Bradley Prints, Jason Bradley.  "Luckily the building I'm in, even though it’s quite old, we haven’t had too many leaks."

PG&E has vegetation and traffic control crews available to respond to outages.

The utility company says they're staging in both Monterey and Santa Cruz counties for now, hoping to prevent long-term outages like what happened during the previous storm.