Had it not been for a neighbor’s goodwill, a Nipomo resident believes her mother-in-law would have passed away during the Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) recently experienced in San Luis Obispo County.
The resident, who wished to be anonymous, said she was out of town for a medical appointment, while her mother-in-law was home alone in Nipomo’s Willow Walk Senior Apartments. Her mother-in-law needs constant oxygen supply to survive.
“I’m signed up for notices on this side of town, but I wasn’t signed up for notices at her address, which is my mistake, but she didn’t understand that it was going to be this constant planned power shutoff,” the resident said. “Six o’clock in the morning, we get a call from her In-Home Supportive Services [IHSS] worker that my mother-in-law is laid out on the couch, completely out of oxygen and struggling to breathe.”
The resident’s mother-in-law relies on an oxygen concentrator machine that pushes oxygen into her nose via tubing.
Her mother-in-law was part of the 8,700 Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) customers affected by the PSPS—when the power is shut off in response to severe weather and to help prevent wildfires.
The PSPS largely covered unincorporated areas across SLO and Santa Barbara counties and included portions of Arroyo Grande, Atascadero, Cambria, Carrizo Plain, Cayucos, Creston, Los Osos, Morro Bay, Nipomo, San Luis Obispo, Santa Margarita, Shandon, Sisquoc, and Templeton.
Power was out from 12:30 a.m. on Oct. 15 through 7 a.m. on Oct. 17.
But according to the resident, her mother-in-law suffered because the shutoff happened earlier than notified.
“It was supposed to go out at 6 o’clock in the morning. The power went out at midnight instead,” she said. “Even if we had been prepared, they still cut it off early, and she went six hours without oxygen.”
Certain pockets of Nipomo still had power, like her mother-in-law’s IHSS worker’s house on the Mesa. The IHSS worker checked in on her early in the morning before helping her down three flights of stairs and taking her home. The worker also grabbed the oxygen concentrator machine and powered it at her house.
In the aftermath of the PSPS, many residents reached out to 4th District Supervisor Jimmy Paulding on Facebook after he urged constituents to narrate their stories to help inform future decisions made by PG&E, regulators, and state legislators.
‘It was supposed to go out at 6 o’clock in the morning. The power went out at midnight instead … Even if we had been prepared, they still cut it off early and she went six hours without oxygen.’
—a Nipomo resident on her mother-in-law’s health
“It reached 90 degrees inside our home, and I had to pack up my new baby and go to my husband’s work to cool down and charge our phone,” one resident commented. “We also lost over $300 worth of groceries.”
PG&E spokesperson Stephanie Magallon told New Times that PSPS is a last-resort tool for the utility company. PG&E called for the shutoff because critically dry vegetation, low humidity, and strong winds created elevated wildfire risk.
PG&E wasn’t alone in considering the wind event a significant fire hazard, Magallon added.
“Ahead of the event, Gov. Gavin Newsom directed Cal Fire and the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services to pre-position additional firefighters, engines, aircraft, and specialized equipment throughout California and placed the State Operations Center into an enhanced state of readiness,” she said. “At the same time, the National Weather Service issued Red Flag Warnings across large portions of California.”
According to Magallon, PG&E coordinates with state and local agencies ahead of and during a PSPS. The utility notifies customers who may be affected a day or two before potential shutoff.
PG&E also encouraged customers to keep contact information updated and enroll in the Medical Baseline Program if they rely on qualifying medical devices or have medical needs that require additional support.
Impacted customers can also file claims via the website.
“Because PSPS events are preventative safety actions taken during conditions of heightened wildfire risk, compensation is not automatic; each claim is evaluated individually based on the circumstances of the loss and PG&E’s investigation,” Magallon said.
The SLO County Office of Emergency Services clarified that PG&E’s current policy doesn’t reimburse for losses.
SLO County did experience a different PSPS from Oct. 9 through 11, but it mostly impacted agricultural areas.
The county recommended residents consider battery backups and generators to prepare for possible PSPS events.
Residents can sign up for alerts at alertslo.org and reach out to the Office of Emergency Services at oes@co.slo.ca.us with questions about preparation.
“In larger events during the outage, PG&E will open Community Resource Centers where residents can charge equipment, get care kits, and have access to restrooms in power,” Emergency Services Coordinator Anita Konopa said. “Because of the large scope of this recent PSPS and PG&E only being able to open two CRCs, the county also opened two centers—in Atascadero and Nipomo—to help support residents.” ∆
This article appears in Pets 2026.
