California heat wave sparks fears of power outages, fires
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.
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Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday declared an emergency to increase energy production and relaxed rules aimed at curbing air pollution and global warming gases. He emphasized the role climate change was playing in the heat wave.
“All of us have been trying to outrun Mother Nature, but it’s pretty clear Mother Nature has outrun us,” Newsom said. “The reality is we’re living in an era of extremes: extreme heat, extreme drought — and with the flooding we’re experiencing around the globe.”
Newsom’s declaration followed “Flex Alert” calls for conservation by the California Independent System Operator, which oversees the state’s electrical grid. The agency issued another Flex Alert for Friday afternoon — its third in a row.
In August 2020, a record heat wave caused a surge in power use for air conditioning that overtaxed the grid. That caused two consecutive nights of rolling blackouts, affecting hundreds of thousands of residential and business customers.
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 (44.4 Celsius) in Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley neighborhoods. Anaheim, home to Disneyland, had an all-time August record of 106 (41.1 Celsius).
