Californians were urged to conserve electricity to prevent mass power shutoffs Wednesday as a heatwave scorched the northern part of the state.
To prevent power outages, state officials asked residents and businesses to turn off lights and appliances and preset their thermostats to 78F (26C), especially during the critical hours between 4 and 9 p.m. local time when demand usually peaks and solar power generation beings to ebb.
The heat wave was most extreme in the state’s interior, chiefly the Central Valley, where some locations hit 105 degrees (40 Celsius). The wildfire risk was focused on northern counties.
On Wednesday, red flag warnings for fire danger were posted for the northern Coast Range, eastern Shasta County, and the Mount Lassen area.
The National Weather Service warned of the possibility of “abundant lightning” and erratic gusts from thunderstorms.
It has been a brutal summer so far for our western states, as a severe drought and wildfires emerge as a serious threat, The spells of extreme heat are becoming more frequent, putting a strain on power and water supplies.
Just yesterday, the federal government ordered water cutbacks across several western states to protect the beleaguered Colorado river.
Janna Haynes, a spokesperson with Sacramento County’s Department of Human Assistance, said separate cooling centers where people can get water, and snacks, and have access to outlets to charge their phones will remain open at least through Friday.
“We’ve activated the cooling centers several times this summer, but this is the worst and longest weather event that we’ve had so far this year,” Haynes said. She said social workers were going out and offering the most vulnerable homeless people vouchers to motels.
