California forecast: Wildfires, heat, thunderstorms, flooding
LOS ANGELES — Forces were beginning to collide Thursday in California as wildfires threatened communities, an epic heat wave stressed the electrical grid and as moisture from a hurricane was expected to bring thunderstorms and floods along with cooling.
Firefighters struggled to control major wildfires in Southern California and the Sierra Nevada that have grown explosively, forced extensive evacuations and produced smoke that could interfere with solar power production.
The Fairview Fire in Southern California covered about 30 square miles of Riverside County and was just 5% contained. Two people died while fleeing flames Monday and at least seven structures have been destroyed.
In the Sierra, the Mosquito Fire had scorched nearly 11 square miles, forcing evacuations in Placer and El Dorado counties. Several structures and at least 10 cars burned near the Gold Rush-era community of Michigan Bluff.
The Nevada Division of Environmental Protection warned the Reno area that air quality could be “very unhealthy” to “hazardous” due to smoke from the Mosquito Fire 100 miles away.
Another dangerous blaze burned in stands of timber near the Big Bear Lake resort region in the San Bernardino Mountains east of Los Angeles. It was just 2% contained after scorching nearly 2 square miles.
A surge of clouds and showers associated with Hurricane Kay off Mexico’s Baja California Peninsula knocked the edge off temperatures in Southern California at times but also was a potential problem for solar generation.
Despite the initial impacts of Kay, forecasters warned that the heat was not yet done.
“The seemingly endless heat wave that has been plaguing California will finally be coming to an end across at least Southern California, but not before two more very hot days and very warm nights,” the Los Angeles-area weather office wrote.
Operators of California’s power grid issued another “Flex Alert” call for voluntary cuts in use of electricity to avoid having to order rolling power outages, and expanded the period by two hours, now from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. Cal-ISO has issued Flex Alerts since last week.
Wildfire smoke and the cloud cover created uncertainty about solar power production in afternoon hours when temperatures rise toward their peaks, said Elliot Mainzer, president and CEO of the California Independent System Operator.
There was also uncertainty about wind power generation at the back end of the period.
Hurricane Kay was expected to downgraded to a tropical storm before it reaches northern Baja California on Friday, the National Weather Service said.
Despite losing hurricane strength, Kay was expected to send a surge of moisture into Southern California. Strong winds, heavy rain and flash floods were likely Friday evening through Saturday. Tropical storm warnings were posted for mariners.