Wildfire, Power Outages Forces Santa Rosa, Calif.-Based CU to Close All Branches

The $522 million Community First Credit Union in Santa Rosa, Calif. said it was forced to close all of its 11 branches Monday because of the Kincade firestorm and power outages.

“Like you, many of our employees have been evacuated and/or are in locations without power,” the credit union reported.

However, Community First CU said it expected to reopen branches in Santa Rosa, Napa and Ukiah on Tuesday.

The credit union’s online and mobile services are operating and the ATMs that have power are working.

Although the $4.6 billion Redwood Credit Union, also based in Santa Rosa, has not announced at branch closures because of the Kincade Fire, it has been affected by the power outages.

In an update posted Monday, the credit union said 10 branches have been opened.

The credit union also noted that the power outages have not affected mobile and online banking, credit cards or debit cards. Services such as mobile deposit and bill pay were available.

Because of potentially severe and dry wind conditions on Tuesday and Wednesday, California’s utility company PG&E said nearly 32 counties across northern and central areas of the state could be affected by power outages.

Near Los Angeles meanwhile, the Getty fire was burning, which has destroyed at least eight structures and damaged five others. The wildfire threatens about 10,000 residential and commercial structures in the evacuation zones, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.

The NCUA lists 19 Los Angeles-based credit unions, but none of them announced any branch closures as of Monday afternoon.