Public Safety · Butte County
PG&E warned approximately 30,000 customers across 22 Northern and Central California counties of a potential Public Safety Power Shutoff beginning late Wednesday, Oct. 15, through Saturday, Oct. 18, due to dry, gusty offshore winds raising wildfire risk. Butte County has the largest number of customers in scope at more than 8,300, followed by Calaveras (~2,200), Shasta (~2,000), Tuolumne (~1,650), and Sierra (more than 1,100) counties. The warning follows a separate PSPS that cut power to about 10,400 customers in Colusa, Glenn, Shasta, Tehama, and Yolo counties early Sunday before an all-clear was issued Monday. Roughly 2,000 Medical Baseline customers are among those potentially affected, and PG&E began notifying customers Monday while noting the scope could change with weather conditions.
Public Safety · Butte County
A wildfire designated D4 Fire was first discovered at 3:09 p.m. on October 13, burning on private land in Butte County, California. As of the initial report, no containment information was available and the cause had not been determined. The National Interagency Fire Center is the source for the fire detection.
Community News · Gridley, CA
Gridley's new 16-bed youth psychiatric facility, Orchard Horizon, is approximately 85% complete on the Orchard Hospital campus, with construction expected to finish in December. U.S. Rep. James Gallagher and Butte County Supervisor Tod Kimmelshue toured the nearly finished 9,200-square-foot building on Oct. 7. The standalone nonprofit will serve patients ages 11–24 but still needs furnishings, equipment, and roughly $1.5 million in first-year operating funds beyond its $7.9 million state construction grant. Some Gridley residents have raised concerns about neighborhood safety and property values, while the Butte County Behavioral Health Advisory Board endorsed the project in June and committed to coordinating referrals and discharge planning.
Local Politics · Butte County
Gridley and Biggs appointed city council representatives in September and October to negotiate a new electric maintenance agreement after the prior three-year contract expired Sept. 30. The existing deal raised monthly payments from $40,566 to $43,036 over its term, while Gridley's labor costs rose approximately 15%. Gridley's committee will also review broader inter-agency partnerships with neighboring cities and Butte County for potential service sharing. Neither committee can approve contracts or commit funds; all proposals return to full city councils for public approval.
Community News · Gridley, CA
The Gridley City Council approved Oct. 5 findings showing groundwater supplies across the Butte Subbasin remained stable during two dry years from 2021 through 2025, with water levels showing little change and storage recovering by 2025. Of 107 wells monitored since 2000, only two recorded nitrate concentrations at or above the 10 mg/L drinking-water standard—one southeast of Gridley and one near Angel Slough in northwestern Butte County—and additional nitrate monitoring was deemed unnecessary. The council also approved a supplemental appropriation of $12,791 for Gridley's 2026-27 contribution to the Butte County Groundwater Sustainability Agency. The five-year evaluation, part of California's Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, will be submitted to the state Department of Water Resources by January 2027.
