California Is Super Hot, on Fire, and Expecting Blackouts

 A heat wave hit western states over the Labor Day weekend, prompting warnings for tens of thousands of people. Through Tuesday, persistent heat is putting out fires and threatening California's power grid, and officials are urging residents to reduce their electricity use to avoid blackouts. The National Weather Service said a heat warning is in effect for Southern California through Thursday, with temperatures expected to reach 111 degrees Fahrenheit (44 degrees Celsius). Unseasonably warm weather worsened dry conditions in the state, sparking a fire in Fairview on Monday that forced hundreds of residents to evacuate from Hammett, California. Schools in the area are closed today due to the fire, power outages and very high temperatures, according to the district's online announcement.

Power outages are expected in other areas of Southern California. According to energy officials, this day reaches 51,000 MW, and California is the highest demand that California has never seen, residents are trying to keep their homes cool.

Last week, the Independent California System -Operator manages most of the stage, and residents have asked their electricity to reduce electricity from 16:00. Before 9pm. And homes need to be avoided using large equipment and load electric vehicles. The operator urged Californians to keep temperatures around 78 degrees Fahrenheit (25.5 degrees Celsius) in the evening to avoid overloading the state's grid. The Independent System Operator of California announced on Monday this week that "unless customers can reduce their energy use even more than they already have, the grid will fail." To help residents without air conditioning, the city opened cooling centers around Los Angeles, in nursing homes and libraries. Mutual aid organizations like Water Drop LA have set up points to provide free bottled water to vulnerable residents. Such heat waves are becoming more frequent and intense due to climate change. Such events can easily become dangerous, especially for vulnerable people such as the elderly, the sick and those without easy access to air conditioning. A heat wave in the Pacific Northwest last June was declared a mass catastrophic event that killed hundreds of people in the United States and Canada.

 

Read more: https://gizmodo.com/california-heat-wave-fires-blackouts-september-2022-1849499912