After a weekend of wild and burning weather, California residents were warned Sunday to step in for Wednesday’s chance to shine.
More than 200,000 PG&E Corp. PCG,
customers in Northern California on Saturday lost power in the state’s first sequence of rolling blackouts since the Enron-fueled statewide energy crisis of 2000-’01. Another 200,000 customers apparently received a Sunday night offer, as well PG&E tweeted that emission of evening output – typically lasting an hour or two – would not be necessary because expectation was met.
Last year, California’s wide swaths were intentionally burned to reduce wildfire risks on days with high winds, but the current blackouts are unrelated. This time, “there is not enough energy to meet the high demand in the heatwave,” the California Independent System Operator said Sunday. The corporation for non-profit public benefits urged the energy savings for the next several days.
Conditions were amplified, Cal ISO said, by the ‘unexpected loss’ of a 470-megawatt power plant Saturday and a loss of 1,000 megawatts of wind energy, as well as a greater dependence on solar energy, which could be disrupted by cloud cover.
The blackouts came amid a rise in energy consumption as homes turned on the air conditioning to counter a widespread and intense heat wave, and the state’s energy network is strained, although a large number of businesses remain closed due to the pandemic.
Three-digit heat gripped much of the state, topped by a striking 130-degree red in Death Valley on Sunday. If confirmed, that rank would be if the first time Death Valley – historically the hottest spot in the country – has been hit 130 degrees since 1913, the National Weather Service said.
In Northern California, the heat was accompanied by a rare summer thunderstorm that brought spectacular lightning strikes around the San Francisco Bay Area early Sunday, causing a number of small fires. Wind gusts reached 75 mph in some places.
Approx 5,000 lightning strikes were picked up around the state by 6 a.m. Sunday.
“This is probably the most widespread and violent summer storm in memory for Bay Area, and it’s also one of the hottest nights in years,” he said. tweeted Daniel Swain, a UCLA climate scientist.
Forecasters said conditions were ripe for a repeat early Monday, potentially triggering more fires.
While the lightning-causing fires around the Bay Area were extinguished Sunday, larger wildfires continued to rage in other parts of California. The Lake Fire, in the mountains north of Los Angeles, near Lancaster, had burned nearly 28 square miles on Sunday night, containing only 12 percent.
Another blaze, called the Loyalton Fire, near the state line north of Lake Tahoe, has burned more than 45 square miles and sent evacuation boards to remote communities.
That fire on Saturday gave the first warning for a ‘firenado’ – an event caused when ground winds raised flames higher, in a tornado-like spiral. The National Water Service issued the warning for ‘tornadoes induced by fire’ and warned firefighters to use extreme caution.
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