As temps go up, so do blackout fears
California heat wave is raising wildfire worries
LOS ANGELES — California was in a state of emergency Thursday as a brutal heat wave brought the threat of power outages and wildfires.
Temperatures will continue to reach triple digits in many areas of the state through Labor Day, forecasters said, prompting concerns that people will turn up the air conditioning and strain the state’s electrical grid.
Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday declared an emergency to increase energy production and relaxed rules aimed at curbing air pollution and global warming gases.
Newsom’s declaration followed a “Flex Alert” call for conservation on Wednesday afternoon and again for Thursday afternoon by the California Independent System Operator, which oversees the state’s electrical grid.
Rolling blackouts “are a possibility but not an inevitability” during the current heat wave, said Elliot Mainzer, president and CEO of the California Independent System Operator.
Cooling centers were being opened across the state and officials encouraged people to seek comfort at public libraries and stores — even if just for a few hours to prevent overheating.
On Skid Row in downtown Los Angeles, where thousands of homeless people live on the street without access to air conditioning or refrigerators, many of the cooling centers they’ve relied on in past years remain closed due to COVID-19 restrictions.
The sight of a half dozen volunteers wheeling carts full of ice cold water bottles was a welcome sight.
“It’s hotter than heck out here,” said Dan, a homeless man huddled with others in the shade of a building. “All of us have to stay outside here, look for shade and count on people coming by with water. … These five days are going to be rough.”
Temperatures Wednesday soared as high as 112 degrees in Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley neighborhoods. Anaheim, home to Disneyland, had an all-time August record of 106. Death Valley fried at 123 degrees.
The National Weather Service warned of an increased risk of wildfires. The Office of Emergency Services positioned fire crews in strategic locations in Southern California and the San Joaquin Valley, based on humidity and wind forecasts.
On Wednesday afternoon, wildfires broke out in bone-dry brush in rural San Diego County and Castaic in the Santa Clarita Valley north of Los Angeles, where a mobile home park was evacuated.
They quickly burned several thousand acres and shut down highways. Seven firefighters had to be taken to hospitals with heat injuries but all were later released, said Los Angeles County Fire Department Deputy Chief Thomas Ewald.