Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Newsom Declares Emergency Over Wildfires
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 4 years ago on
August 18, 2020

Share

SAN FRANCISCO — Gov. Gavin Newsom declared an emergency Tuesday over wildfires burning throughout California as the state’s power grid operator pleaded with residents and businesses to continue conserving energy to avoid rolling blackouts.

The state is in a days-long heatwave that has stressed the electrical system and resulted in rolling blackouts over two nights last weekend. The strong ridge of high pressure responsible for the heatwave was expected to weaken, but excessive hot weather was forecast for the weekend as families stay at home because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Steve Berberich, president and CEO of the California Independent System Operator, praised customers for astonishing conservation efforts that kept the power on Monday night.

He said operators were stunned by the “dramatic flattening” of consumption at 3 p.m. Monday after his office warned that as many as 3.3 million homes and businesses would be affected by rotating, two-hour outages. The order never was issued and the warning was canceled.

“It was stunning the conservation response that we got,” he said Tuesday. “I know it’s hot and I know it’s hard, but those same actions today can make all the difference in the world.”

The state is in a days-long heatwave that has stressed the electrical system and resulted in rolling blackouts over two nights last weekend. The strong ridge of high pressure responsible for the heatwave was expected to weaken, but excessive hot weather was forecast for the weekend as families stay at home because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Newsom declared a statewide emergency Tuesday, saying that hundreds of wildfires were burning in the state, with some sparked by lightning. “We are deploying every resource available to keep communities safe as California battles fires across the state during these extreme conditions,” he said.

Evacuations were in effect or growing in the Napa County wine country north of San Francisco Bay, near Salinas in Monterey County, around Oroville Dam north of Sacramento and near the Nevada state line north of Lake Tahoe.

A fire in Napa County was burning close to remote grape-growing properties owned by Villa Del Lago Winery.

“Our vineyard workers had to evacuate very quickly. And we heard this morning that there was zero containment, so that’s scary. It’s very steep, so I know it’s hard for firefighters to get up there,” said Dawn Phillips, who works in customer service for the winery.

A Second but Shorter Outage Hit Saturday Evening, Affecting More Than 200,000 Customers

In Southern California, evacuations continued for a week-old fire in the mountains of northern Los Angeles County. Dynamic weather churned up thunderstorms bringing the double threat of more lightning-sparked fires and flash floods.

California ISO issued the first rolling blackouts in nearly 20 years on Friday, resulting in the state’s three biggest utilities — Pacific Gas & Electric, Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric — turning off power to more than 410,000 homes and businesses for about an hour at a time until the emergency declaration ended 3 1/2 hours later.

A second but shorter outage hit Saturday evening, affecting more than 200,000 customers.

Former Gov. Jerry Brown called the rolling blackouts “a kerfuffle, not a crisis,” adding that California’s bigger challenge will be boosting its renewable energy sources to handle the increased demand for electricity that will come due to climate change.

Berberich credited large power users, businesses, and residential customers for their good work. He initially said the state may be short 2,700 megawatts around 7 p.m. Tuesday, which is smaller than the 4,400-megawatt shortage projected for Monday. The shortage of 4,400 megawatts equates to about 3.3 million homes and businesses.

Later Tuesday afternoon, California ISO tweeted that consumer conservation was making a dent but that outages were still likely because of shortfalls.

Newsom signed a different emergency proclamation Sunday allowing some energy users and utilities to tap backup energy sources, which helped with Tuesday’s energy needs. He also demanded an investigation into Friday and Saturday blackouts.

Scorching weather has hit other Western states, making it harder for California to import extra power.

DON'T MISS

Democrats Strike Deal to Get More Biden Judges Confirmed Before Congress Adjourns

DON'T MISS

Newsom Gaslights on Potential Gas Price Hikes in Fresno Visit

DON'T MISS

Automakers to Trump: Please Require Us to Sell Electric Vehicles

DON'T MISS

President Biden Welcomes 2024 NBA Champion Boston Celtics to White House

DON'T MISS

Ohtani Makes History With 3rd MVP, Judge Claims 2nd AL Honor

DON'T MISS

Trump Chooses Pam Bondi for Attorney General Pick After Gaetz Withdraws

DON'T MISS

Average Rate on a 30-Year Mortgage in the US Rises to Highest Level Since July

DON'T MISS

Cutting in Line? American Airlines’ New Boarding Tech Might Stop You at Now Over 100 Airports

DON'T MISS

MLB Will Test Robot Umpires at 13 Spring Training Ballparks Hosting 19 Teams

DON'T MISS

Death Toll in Gaza From Israel-Hamas War Passes 44,000, Palestinian Officials Say

UP NEXT

What Will Happen to CNBC and MSNBC When They No Longer Have a Corporate Connection to NBC News?

UP NEXT

Major Storm Drops Record Rain, Downs Trees in Northern California After Devastation Further North

UP NEXT

Newsom Heads to Fresno, a County That Voted for Trump

UP NEXT

Conservative Professors and Students Are Beating CA Community Colleges in Court

UP NEXT

Thousands of University of California Workers Go on 2-Day Strike Over Wages, Staff Shortages

UP NEXT

Gavin Newsom Pledged to Release His Tax Returns Every Year. The Last One Was for 2020.

UP NEXT

California Governor Will Not Make Clemency Decision for Menendez Brothers Until New DA Reviews Case

UP NEXT

Fewer Kids Are Going to California Public Schools. Is There a Right Way to Close Campuses?

UP NEXT

California Voters Reject Measure That Would Have Raised Minimum Wage to Nation-High $18 Per Hour

UP NEXT

With Democracy Supposedly at Stake, California Voters Stayed Away in Droves

President Biden Welcomes 2024 NBA Champion Boston Celtics to White House

1 hour ago

Ohtani Makes History With 3rd MVP, Judge Claims 2nd AL Honor

2 hours ago

Trump Chooses Pam Bondi for Attorney General Pick After Gaetz Withdraws

2 hours ago

Average Rate on a 30-Year Mortgage in the US Rises to Highest Level Since July

2 hours ago

Cutting in Line? American Airlines’ New Boarding Tech Might Stop You at Now Over 100 Airports

2 hours ago

MLB Will Test Robot Umpires at 13 Spring Training Ballparks Hosting 19 Teams

3 hours ago

Death Toll in Gaza From Israel-Hamas War Passes 44,000, Palestinian Officials Say

3 hours ago

Jussie Smollett’s Conviction in 2019 Attack on Himself Is Overturned

3 hours ago

Fresno Council Lowers Speed Limits on Friant and Audubon

3 hours ago

How About an Honest Conversation About the Range of Light Monument Proposal?

5 hours ago

Democrats Strike Deal to Get More Biden Judges Confirmed Before Congress Adjourns

WASHINGTON — The Senate won’t hold votes on four of President Joe Biden’s appellate court nominees as part of a deal with Republ...

2 minutes ago

2 minutes ago

Democrats Strike Deal to Get More Biden Judges Confirmed Before Congress Adjourns

42 minutes ago

Newsom Gaslights on Potential Gas Price Hikes in Fresno Visit

President Joe Biden with Mary Barra, the chief executive of General Motors, at the Detroit Auto Show, Sept. 14, 2022. President-elect Donald Trump has promised to erase the Biden administration’s tailpipe rules designed to get carmakers to produce electric vehicles, but most U.S. automakers want to keep them. (Doug Mills/The New York Times)
1 hour ago

Automakers to Trump: Please Require Us to Sell Electric Vehicles

1 hour ago

President Biden Welcomes 2024 NBA Champion Boston Celtics to White House

2 hours ago

Ohtani Makes History With 3rd MVP, Judge Claims 2nd AL Honor

Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, speaks before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump arrives to speak at a campaign rally at First Horizon Coliseum, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024, in Greensboro, NC. (AP/Alex Brandon)
2 hours ago

Trump Chooses Pam Bondi for Attorney General Pick After Gaetz Withdraws

2 hours ago

Average Rate on a 30-Year Mortgage in the US Rises to Highest Level Since July

2 hours ago

Cutting in Line? American Airlines’ New Boarding Tech Might Stop You at Now Over 100 Airports

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend