Calistoga shaking off effects from precautionary power outage

CALISTOGA, Calif. (KGO) -- Calistoga is open for business again, but being in the dark yesterday really had an impact.

Here is just one example of what one tourist didn't do yesterday because of the power outage:
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"Sterling Winery was closed. We had a wine tasting coupon and that was closed. We were going to ride bikes but they were closed. A lot of places were closed," said Bill Doyle who is visiting from Canada. He is leaving today.

RELATED: Calistoga businesses taking a hit from PG&E power shutdown

Businesses say the hardest part of the PG&E precautionary power shut down was not knowing when the utility would turn the power back on. Merchants found themselves planning for a long term power outage since they heard different predictions from different public officials.

"We were getting a wide range -- 24 hours to five days. It was a guessing game all day," said Sean O'Brien, the assistant manager of the Cal Mart grocery store.



Managers sent employees home and focused on saving food. They were able to re-open at 3 p.m. By then it was difficult to get a hold of staff and get them back to the store.

RELATED: New PG&E policy may cut off electricity to Bay Area customers during high fire danger

"Clover from Petaluma sent us a cold truck. It got here as power was coming on, a little late," said O'Brien.

PG&E says it will assess the shutdown and see if changes need to be made in the future. The utility turned the power off Sunday night when the wind picked up out of concern it could knock over a power pole and start a fire.

PG&E officials say they thank the community for its patience.
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Residents say they understand the utility doesn't want power lines falling and starting fires, but there are questions about this as a precautionary move.



"I think they need to come up with better way to shut it down than a huge grid. We don't think there was a need to shut it down like they did," said chef Kevin Klathman.

"It's a tough call. In town it wasn't windy so certain areas could have stayed on. It's a tough call. We want people to be safe but we want to be able to service our community," said Sonia Murphy, the culinary director at the grocery store.

To find out if you are in an affected area click here.
The following is a full list of counties and cities that could experience some outages, according to PG&E:

Lake County (Clearlake, Clearlake Oaks, Clearlake Park, Cobb, Finley, Hidden Valley Lake, Kelseyville, Lakeport, Lower Lake, Middletown)

Napa County (Angwin, Calistoga, Deer Park, Lake Berryessa, Napa, Pope Valley, Saint Helena)

Sonoma County (Cloverdale, Geyserville, Healdsburg, Santa Rosa)

Yuba County (Brownsville, Camptonville, Challenge, Dobbins, Marysville, Oregon House, Strawberry Valley)

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Butte County (Berry Creek, Brush Creek, Clipper Mills, Feather Falls, Forbestown, Oroville)

Sierra County (Alleghany, Downieville, Goodyears Bar, Pike City, Sierra City)

Placer County (Alta, Applegate, Auburn, Baxter, Colfax, Dutch Flat, Emigrant Gap, Foresthill, Gold Run, Loomis, Meadow Vista, Weimar)

Nevada County (Chicago Park, Grass Valley, Nevada City, North San Juan, Penn Valley, Rough and Ready, Soda Springs, Washington)

El Dorado County (Aukum, Camino, Coloma, Cool, Diamond Springs, El Dorado, Fair Play, Garden Valley, Georgetown, Greenwood, Grizzly Flats, Kelsey, Kyburz, Mount Aukum, Omo Ranch, Pacific House, Placerville, Pollock Pines, Shingle Springs, Silver Fork, Somerset, Strawberry, Twin Bridges)

Amador County (Fiddletown, Jackson, Pine Grove, Pioneer, Plymouth, Sutter Creek, Volcano)

Plumas County (La Porte)

Calaveras (Glencoe, Mokelumne Hill, Mountain Ranch, Rail Road Flat, West Point, Wilseyville)