SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Pacific Gas & Electric expects to restore power to most of the 120,000 people it intentionally blacked out to avoid the risk of catastrophic wildfires.
The nation's largest utility cut the juice on Wednesday in 10 Northern and central California counties because of concerns that dry, windy weather could throw debris into power lines, causing them to spark and ignite tinder-dry brush.
But officials say the weather proved better than expected, with higher humidity, cloud cover and even some rain in the Sierra Nevada.
That allowed PG&E to drastically reduce the number of customers it originally expected to black out - about 375,000 - and even to begin restoring electricity in some areas.
The utility expected to declare a weather all-clear Thursday morning, allowing its crews to inspect and if necessary repair power lines.
