*This page will be updated regularly as new information becomes available. (Last update 10/27/2019)
The Santa Clara County Office of Education (SCCOE) and districts throughout the Bay Area may experience a loss of power for more than 40 hours due to PG&E's Power Safety Shutoff Program.
Bay Area Residents can track their status through the PG&E Outage Center Map located here:
http://critweb-outage.pgealerts.com/, the Potential PSPS Address look-up tool: https://psps.ss.pge.com/ or alternatively use the map provided by the San Francisco Chronicle
https://projects.sfchronicle.com/trackers/power-outages/.
PG&E will provide resources at these locations:
The center will be open 8:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m., Sunday, 10/27 and provide restrooms, bottled water, electronic device charging and air-conditioned seating.
- East Valley YMCA, 1975 S White Rd, San Jose, CA 95148
- Costco, 7251 Camino Arroyo, Gilroy, CA 95020
City of San Jose will provide resource centers as follows:
Residents will have access to information, charging stations for phones and plug-in medical devices, water, and light snacks. Spanish and Vietnamese interpretation will be available. Sheltering and medical care will not be provided. Centers are open Noon to 7:00 p.m., Sunday, 10/27
- Berryessa Community Center, 3050 Berryessa Road, San Jose
- Camden Community Center, 3369 Union Avenue, San Jose
- Evergreen Community Center, 4860 San Felipe Road, San Jose
- Southside Community Center, 5585 Cottle Road, San Jose
We are recommending that schools follow pre-established power outage protocols. Every district has a unique school safety plan for each site. Schools may declare a closure as they make determinations based on the safety of their students. Each decision will be made by districts for their school sites.
Schools are listed as critical facilities that will receive an advance warning from PG&E. Once such information is received, the district will decide whether to move forward with the school day and notify families of its decision. The safety and security of our students is the utmost concern, and this will be the major factor in the decision-making process.
We have asked local districts to notify our office of any campus closures. All anticipated closures will be available here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1CuXdAnekfNf1m6EVByh9Z9KDo-Vnawbs7WbDr_RO7S8/edit?ts=5db32ca4#gid=239055722.
Schools will notify families through their normal communication channels. Parents and families should check with their schools and respective district offices for closure information.
Links to Santa Clara County School Districts
Resources
Santa Clara County Office of Education:
Information Regarding Possible Power Shutoffs
Bay Area Power Outage Maps:
https://projects.sfchronicle.com/trackers/power-outages/
https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=11OZXAhiqf-NnZHzCSz-4puYSjangbG4e&ll=38.512668770967586%2C-122.73609252343749&z=8
To sign up for PG&E Alerts:
https://www.pge.com/en_US/residential/your-account/account-management/manage-your-account/alerts-and-notifications/update-your-contact-information.page?WT.mc_id=Vanity_mywildfirealerts
Receive text notification of emergencies in Santa Clara County Alert SCC: https://www.sccgov.org/sites/oes/alertscc/Pages/home.aspx
Prepare for PG&E Power Safety Shutoff:
- Check to see if your home or workplace will be impacted at
https://m.pge.com/#outages
- Write down important phone numbers.
- Fully charge all devices, including back-ups.
- Make sure to have fresh batteries and bottled water on hand.
- Be sure to plan for medical needs, such as medication that requires refrigeration and devices that will need power.
- Make sure emergency kits are stocked and up-to-date.
- Make sure back-up generators are ready for use.
- Check for resources that are available to you during a power shut-off.
- Unplug or turn off appliances, equipment, and electronics to avoid damage caused by surges when the power is restored.
- Leave a single lamp on to alert you when the power returns. Then turn your appliances on one at a time.
- Typically, your refrigerator will keep food cold for about 4 hours and a full freezer will keep its temperature for about 48 hours--if the freezer and refrigerator doors are kept closed. Consider using coolers with ice to keep food cold and safe.
- Be sure to use generators, camp stoves or charcoal grills outdoors only. Do not use a gas stove for heat.
- Check on your neighbors.
District Tech Support
In response to PG&E's planned public safety power shutoff for areas of Santa Clara County, the Technology and Data Services Division is assessing how technology services may be affected during the outage.
The SCCOE itself is not within the planned outage areas. While we are closely monitoring updates from PG&E, there is no expected interruption of power or technology services at the SCCOE itself. Applications such as QSS and Data Warehouse will remain available.
However, it should be noted that there is a chance that network services may be disrupted even for those districts not within PG&E's outage areas.
Several scenarios require consideration by districts within Santa Clara which may cause loss of connectivity to SCCOE and the Internet:
- Districts within power outage areas may be affected if network equipment is not protected by backup power.
- Districts utilizing carrier services to SCCOE e.g., Comcast and AT&T, may be affected even if they are not within outage areas. This may be due to loss of power to intermediary equipment belonging to the carrier within outage areas.
- Districts on dark fiber to the SCCOE may be affected if enough adjacent amplifier sites are lost, effectively simulating multiple cuts to the ring. Initial assessments of dark fiber ring sites have not indicated potential disruption of services.
Due to the unprecedented nature and scope of the planned outage, it is difficult to predict all of its consequences. TDSD will continue to monitor the situation closely and respond to issues and concerns related to the SCCOE's technology services as appropriate.
For any questions or concerns, you may contact:
- David Wu, Chief Technology Officer 408-453-6728
- Jon Cornelison, Director III – Technology Infrastructure & Support 408-453-6946
- David Huie, Manager – Security, Network & Systems Engineering 408-453-6743
- Vince Tran, Enterprise Network Engineer 408-453-6669
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