Nation California power outages aim to reduce risk of wildfires caused by dry and windy weather October 9, 2019October 10, 2019 David Baratz, USA TODAY Comments Off on California power outages aim to reduce risk of wildfires caused by dry and windy weather On Oct. 9, 2019, California's leading utility began shutting off power to more than 800,000 subscribers in bid to reduce the risk of wildfires.