Hundreds of thousands of Californians are bracing for preventive power shutoffs, as wildfires have burned a record 2m acres across the state and the pandemic keeps many confined to their homes.
The first wave of power shutoffs started late on Monday night, with Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) cutting power to 172,000 homes and businesses in 22 counties in northern California because of strong winds and dry conditions in the forecast. The utility also planned to shut off power to customers in Kern county, north of Los Angeles, starting Tuesday afternoon.
Another utility, Southern California Edison, was considering shutting off power to close to 55,000 customers in six counties in southern California on Tuesday. San Diego Gas and Electric was also considering cutting power to 16,715 customers.
The shutoffs could affect up to a total of 721,000 Californians, based on California’s average persons per household, and will significantly affect residents’ lives. Power shutoffs affect businesses and transport systems, and pose significant risks to the physically vulnerable. With many schools closed and more Californians working from home than ever because of the pandemic – more residents will be reliant on having access to power than during shutoffs last year.
Gavin Newsom, the California governor, said on Tuesday the state put “tens of millions of dollars in the budget in anticipation” of this year’s shutoffs. That includes funding for community resource centers that have power but some residents may avoid them because of coronavirus infection risks.
California utility companies began cutting power to swaths of the state as a preventive measure against wildfires last year. With the climate crisis fueling more extreme fires than ever – and PG&E at fault for two of the deadliest wildfires in California’s history – local leaders have declared these planned power shutoffs a part of the state’s new normal around wildfire prevention. PG&E declared bankruptcy in January, in part because of potential liabilities from its role in some of the 2017 northern California fires and the 2018 Camp fire. Combined, those fires killed a total of 129 people and destroyed tens of thousands of homes.
Last year, Newsom expressed dissatisfaction with how PG&E handled the shutoffs, particularly around notification of when the shutoffs would occur and which customers they would affect. Through the bankruptcy process, the utility put in place new protocols that include a 72-hour notification. “Is it perfect? Not yet, but it has improved,” Newsom said. He said a year ago he would have imagined “more customers being impacted for a longer period of time”.
“There is more precision, there has been more communication but we’re not where we’re going to be and we are not yet where we need to be.”
These planned power shutoffs are separate from the rolling blackouts the state experienced last month, for the first time in nearly two decades, during an extreme heatwave. With much of California still coming down from record-high temperatures over the holiday weekend, the National Weather Service warned of increased risk of power outages due to more Californians wanting to use their air conditioners amid the heat.
Los Angeles county saw temperatures of 121F, a record high over the weekend, and San Francisco hit 100F on Sunday, breaking a previous same-day record of 92F set more than 100 years ago in 1904. According to Newsom, California averages 38,000 daily megawatts of energy use at its peak. Over the weekend, it reached more than 47,000 megawatts.
The National Weather Service has placed much of the state under red flag warnings for fire danger this week, with northern California facing diablo winds and southern California facing Santa Ana winds.
Here's an idea of predicted winds over Ventura & Los Angeles Counties thru Wed. Gusty #SantaAnaWinds will increase over the mountains by midday then spread to the valleys/coast tonight. Gusts to 60 mph mtns & 40 mph coasts possible. #CAwx #LAfire #LAweather pic.twitter.com/jfxcNWgebq
— NWS Los Angeles (@NWSLosAngeles) September 8, 2020
Wildfires have burned a record 2.2m acres across California, shrouding much of the state in smoke that has caused some of the worst air quality in the world. Mid-August lightning storms ignited more than 900 wildfires in the north of the state that together have burnt through more than 1.8m acres – almost five times the size of London. Two of the three largest fires in California history – the LNU Lightning Complex fire and the SCU Lightning Complex fire – are currently burning in the San Francisco Bay area.
With the weather conditions and wildfires, Newsom declared a state of emergency over the weekend. On Tuesday, he expressed optimism that California could get through multiple crises at once. “This is a resilient state,” Newsom said. “We have a remarkable capacity to meet these challenges head on.”
.jpg?w=600)
