Emergency Department Visits During the Fall 2019 Public Safety Power Shutoff Events in California.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

To prevent power lines from igniting wildfires, utility companies in California are authorized to conduct Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS), de-energizing, or shutting off power to equipment during periods of high wildfire risk. This study assessed the association between PSPS and emergency department visits.

Methods

The study quantified the extent to which counties in California experienced PSPS each day between September 15 and November 30, 2019. Linear mixed models were used to estimate the rate of emergency department encounters per 100,000 county residents based on quartiles of PSPS exposure, compared to no PSPS exposure at the county-day level. Analyses examined all emergency department encounters as well as age- and diagnosis-specific visits.

Results

SUBMITTER: Harding AB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12926741 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature