Many people across Northern and Central California have experienced at least one of PG&E’s shutoffs aimed at preventing electrical equipment from sparking wildfires.
In October, three power cuts have left people in the dark and without power for their medical devices, refrigerators and stoves, electronic devices and more. Food has spoiled. Some people have been left in the cold, literally.
We want to hear your story of how the shutoffs impacted you. Tell us here (or in the form below) and you may become part of our reporting. Here’s one we already got from Nadia Maddox of Somerset in El Dorado County:
“4 days without electricity. Third round of shut-offs.
No school for the kids today or tomorrow (they also missed a couple days of school for the last 3 weeks). This also means no work no pay for hourly employees. The financial hits keep coming for many staff members.
It's cold up here, but my house has a wood-burning stove to keep us warm, I'm fortunate. I see post after post on Facebook where people are COLD because they don't have a heat source.
It's hard to cook because my stove is electric. I have a generator so I can power the microwave to cook. I have a camping stove, too. Again, I'm fortunate.
I had to throw away all the food in my refrigerator and freezer, because I wasn't here when the lights went out Saturday. Ouch!! I'm not the only one, a lot of people are losing the food they just bought to replace the food they lost during the other outages. That is painful for a lot of families, too.”