Hot weather and gusty winds raise California wildfire threat as power shutoffs are planned

Large swaths of California are bracing for hazardous fire weather conditions beginning Thursday, with the threat expected to persist through Saturday. The combination of high temperatures and gusty winds has prompted utility companies to initiate planned power shutoffs to mitigate the risk of accidental wildfire ignitions.

Thousands of residents are potentially affected by these precautionary outages as state and local officials prepare for the elevated fire danger. The measures are part of an ongoing strategy by utilities to prevent electrical infrastructure from sparking blazes during periods of extreme weather.