PG&E has already started cutting off power to thousands of customers across the bay area due to fire safety and high winds. Here are some tips to prepare for the outages:
Here are some tips to prepare for a power outage.
- Keep your smartphone fully charged.
- Use an external battery charger that can charge your phone several times. If possible, purchase a more robust battery charger that can charge several devices at a time.
- Turn your car into an emergency generator by using a power inverter that turns DC current from your vehicle to AC current to power home devices from your car.
- Store plenty of batteries to power LED flashlights and portable radios. Remember, streaming services won't work without electricity.
- Refill your car's gas tank when it reaches half a tank to avoid being caught without gasoline during a prolonged blackout. Gas pumps rely on electricity to function. If you own an electric vehicle, keep it fully charged.
- Keep plenty of cash on hand since ATM machines likely won't work during a power outage. Credit card machines also require electricity.
- Disconnect your computer and use a surge protector to avoid damage from a power surge when the electricity comes back on.
- Learn to operate your garage door without electricity. Pull on the red handle that should be dangling from the garage door unit. This will unhinge the door from the rail so that you can manually lift the door. Some doors have a key so they can be opened from the outside during a power outage.
PG&E is setting up resource centers throughout the Bay Area for residents to charge their electronic devices, cool off in air conditions, grab a bottle of water and use the restroom.
>>Click here for the locations of resource centers in the Bay Area