California Wild Fires and Power Outages

Pacific Gas and Electric says it will be setting up more than two dozen community centers with restrooms and electronic-device charging stations for people in counties affected by a power shutdown aimed at reducing wildfire risks.

Drinkthekoolaid wrote:I talk to people in California for work. I will keep note of any interesting conversations or comments they make.


Off topic somewhat...
I still want to know more about the Metcalf substation attack in San Jose. It has been eerily quiet and it's rarely mentioned.

TRex2 wrote:Power Outage in the face of high winds?
Feel sorry for them?
Hell no.
I am glad someone finally got their head our of their ...

I have watched, time and time again, as Hurricanes came ashore and the power stated on until sparking power lines burned down a few homes and electrocuted a couple of people. Have been posting since Rita (2004?) that the power needs to be cut in mandatory evacuation zones. (You stay, you're on your own, we can look for your body after the storm.)

Hats Off to PG&E.

ReadyMom wrote:  I separated out the posts about the power plant attacks and put them in their own thread. It's over in Chit-Chat, since it's more of a discussion, right now. You can find it here:  Power Plants & Substations-Attack Concerns

If we get any new attacks, we can post them here, in National News, since this is more of a current events part of the forum.

rick1 wrote:The outrage 'cause of the PG&E power outages has begun. The news has reported that offices of PG&E have been egged, big deal.

An employee has been shot at while driving a PG&E vehicle, hummm, what's next by the crackpots of kilifornia:


https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/crime/article235966667.html

Public agencies throughout the region urged people to stock up on bottled water and non-perishable food, fill their gas tanks, charge their phones and have cash at hand. People who need powered medical equipment or refrigerated medicines were urged to contact their providers. Authorities reminded people to park their vehicles outside garages or make sure they know how to manually open their garage doors. People also were warned to drive slowly and carefully because traffic lights could be out and roads closed

Dave58 wrote:https://youtu.be/6JrX7sSjVUI

Things are starting to get interesting in Cali and they are supposed to have up to 5 days of this...

A Northern California man dependent on an oxygen supply died Wednesday, shortly after power cuts by Pacific Gas and Electric Co. affected his home, fire officials said Friday.

A Northern California man dependent on an oxygen supply died Wednesday, shortly after power cuts by Pacific Gas and Electric Co. affected his home, fire officials said Friday.

Robert Mardis, 67, died roughly 12 minutes after PG&E cut power to his home and the surrounding area. An autopsy report concluded the man died of severe coronary artery atherosclerosis, according to the Sacramento Bee.

Fire personnel responded to a call around 3:40 a.m. and found Mardis unresponsive on the floor of his home, according to El Dorado County Interim Fire Chief Lloyd Ogan. He was found wearing a nasal cannula, used to deliver oxygen to the nose, and was hooked up to a PPAP machine for that purpose. Mardis' family told Fox 40 he couldn’t reach his battery-powered tank in time.

PG&E shutoff: Power restored for nearly all customers in Northern California
https://www.sacbee.com/news/california/fires/article236031853.html#storylink=cpy

Amid intensifying political pressure, PG&E Corp. crews have restored power to about 686,000 homes and businesses in California that had been subjected to a deliberate blackout, the company said Friday.

While about 93 percent of the affected ratepayers had their lights back on, 52,000 customers were still without electricity Friday night, more than 60 hours after the utility cut power in 35 counties.  

Californians have embraced rooftop solar panels more than anyone in the U.S., but many are learning the hard way the systems won’t keep the lights on during blackouts.

That’s because most panels are designed to supply power to the grid -- not directly to houses. During the heat of the day, solar systems can crank out more juice than a home can handle. Conversely, they don’t produce power at all at night. So systems are tied into the grid, and the vast majority aren’t working this week as PG&E Corp. cuts power to much of Northern California to prevent wildfires.

TRex2 wrote:Maybe they should consider this a trial run
on a real grid down situation

California residents face up to 10 years of widespread, precautionary forced power shut-offs until Pacific Gas & Electric Corp., the bankrupt utility giant, will be able to prevent its power transmission lines from sparking fires, the company’s top official said.

(SNIP)

While the need for widespread shutdowns should lessen every year, Johnson told commissioners, “I think this is probably a 10-year timeline to get to a point where it’s really ratcheted down significantly.”