Californians endure second round of PG&E blackouts

Another widespread pre-emptive blackout began Wednesday for 17 California counties, as the state faces high wildfire risks that are expected to last through Thursday night, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

The big picture: PG&E's CEO Bill Johnson said last week that it could be a decade before the company has made enough improvements to its electric infrastructure to prevent these blackouts, which aim to prevent wildfires during high-wind periods and dry spells.

Where it stands: About 179,000 PG&E customers will be affected by the blackout that began Wednesday, the Washington Post reports. Shutoffs, scheduled by county, are expected to continue until 1 am local time on Thursday.

• More outages could begin on Saturday, per the Chronicle.

Go deeper: California utility says intentional blackouts could be needed for 10 years