California utilities cut power to tens of thousands as crews fight wildfires, the Times says
The New York Times reported that firefighters were racing to control California wildfires on Friday as winds threatened to spark more. The report said power companies shut off electricity to tens of thousands of homes and businesses in advance. The story ran in the Times Home feed and in Google News headlines. Acreage and containment figures were not in the summary reviewed. The names of the fires, the counties affected and the number of evacuations were also not given in the material reviewed. No second independent outlet was found in the reviewed material.
Pre-emptive shutoffs reduce the chance that wind-blown lines spark a fire, but they leave customers without refrigeration, medical devices, well pumps and phone charging. Smoke can degrade air quality far from the fires, affecting people with asthma and heart conditions.
If you live in an affected area, charge phones and battery packs now, keep water and a flashlight ready, and check your utility’s outage map for your address. If anyone at home relies on powered medical equipment, ask the utility about medical-baseline or backup programs today.
Planned blackouts trade one risk for another. Have a plan for both the fire and the outage.
DailyDrop U.S. No. 13 · October 17, 2026