There’s a lot of conspiracy theories out there about whether PG&E is doing this as part of a campaign for a bailout of the beleaguered utility. The fact is that the Legislature, Public Utilities Commission, and federal courts (the one overseeing the San Bruno probation, not bankruptcy) asked for this. While the federal court was specific to PG&E, the others asked for the plans including power shutoffs as part of plans to handle with changing climate situations (manmade or otherwise).

If you’ve been a reader for awhile, you know that I’ve had plenty of criticism of PG&E. That’s on pause until after this event is over. At least 153 Californians died in wildfires, a majority of which were caused by falling power lines over the last two years.

Obviously, the Twitterverse will be an ignorant cesspool and will make it political (on the right and left) without knowing the facts, but right now it’s to avoid adding more faces to this.

We’ll have plenty of time to talk about the coulda/woulda/shoulda after all is said is done. For now, let’s ensure the safety of our fellow Californians.