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The following is a copy and paste from our local paper, called "The Paradise Post." Sorry, but I don't know how to prepare a direct link. Anyone with a computer can access it on the Internet.
Nothing new here, we are bombarded daily on television with the current and upcoming power shortages.
The difference is, in other states a drunk drives into a power pole and the neighborhood goes dark for a while. We have that too, but now with the fire danger all over the state, PG&E, Southern California Edison, San Diego Electric, they are planning to turn off the lights for areas where high winds meet high trees.
The outage could last up to five days, or, suspense..... longer.
When weather conditions warrant it this fire season, Pacific Gas and Electric could shut off power to large chunks of California for up to five days at a time.
“Forty-eight hours is a reasonable number, but there is nothing wrong with being prepared for five days,” said PG&E spokeswoman Alison Talbott, adding that everyone should be preparing for all types of outages. “Go ahead and be mad at PG&E, but use this as an opportunity to prepare yourself; because an emergency can happen at any time that isn’t fire-related.”
“We as a company, as a state, as communities, cannot afford another megafire like the Camp Fire, period,” said David Hodgkiss, who spent 32 years in the fire service before becoming a senior public safety specialist for PG&E last year. “That fire (in Butte County) killed 85 people and burned 14,000 homes. That’s unheard of. So (Public Safety Power Shutoffs) is a tool we’re going to use more and more to hopefully minimize new fire starts.
“This is not something that PG&E wants to do; it is in the business of keeping the lights on,” he added. “But this is a tool we have to use in the changing fire environment to minimize the risk of another catastrophic fire like the Camp Fire.”
Last edited by Count David; 06-23-2019 at 02:53 PM..
Not a big deal for most people, if they just do a little preparation. I have Sterno, but I'm going to spring for a butane burner. I always have a lot of canned food I can heat up, or even just eat cold if necessary - and it's all stuff I can feed my dog, if I run out of dog food. If I have a little warning, I can be sure I have plenty of water, by having several empty water containers I can fill up - if I don't already have bottled water on hand. Always have flashlights, books, and if you have a data plan on your phone and you have phone connection, you can get radio and other entertainment via your data plan.
I guess having lived in the mountains for many years got me in the habit of kind of stockpiling stuff. Power outages were never a big deal for me. In fact, I've always thought they were kind of fun. Gives you a chance to slow down, not be stuck at a computer, etc.
It wasn't too long ago I heard (on the news) this would be happening. Not just up your way mgforshort but all over California. I live in an area where there's a slim chance of us being shut but if it happens, I'm okay and could be for days. Decades ago when we lived in the country, there were numerous times our power went out. This was all before computers, internet, nintendo and things like that. We'd make sure the wood stove was stoked, candles nearby and the Scrabble game ready. We'd light candles and play it at the kitchen table. It really was a great bonding time with the kids. I imagine most people would go out of their mind if they didn't have their technology to entertain them nowadays. lol
I hope you have a generator, though. Most people I know who live in the mountains have one. It's great for keeping the lights on but especially good to keep their well pumping. Without well water, their faucets would go dry. Funny (not humorous kind of funny) that many people have forgotten how to survive without all the modern conveniences.
Stay safe and glad to hear you can go fishing now without paying through the nose for a permit.
I have my frail 92 year old mother crippled with arthritis living in my home. This outages will be occurring at usually the hottest time of the year. As a middle age able body person I can handle an outage on a 105 degree day. Its impossible to just pack her up and leave for the coast. She barely gets by in my home. There are many others like her in a place like Butte County with its large elderly population. Our summer weather is extremely hot and can be extremely dangerous to vulnerable individuals without power for their air conditioning. And "just get a generator" isn't that easy. You must have your home's electrical system fitted where it can be plugged in to power the central AC... and that takes quite a beefy generator to boot. It would be several thousand dollars all together and I don't have it.
A few weeks ago they shut off the power to much of Oroville area for one day due to a red flag warning. By the time they did it the wind had already died down (9PM) and even the next day it wasn't what you would call strong - more like a good breeze. Basically, they jumped the gun when it wasn't necessary. I would hope they would be a little more prudent next time and reserve these outages for the absolutely worst situation and not just every time its hot and the wind blows a little. This is the Central Valley - that's just the way it is here in the summer. Always has been.
Yes, Paradise was horrible. I fully understand that living this close to it. But its not necessary to shut off power in downtown Oroville or the Oro Dam Blvd retail strip (which is what they did last time). They're miles from the foothills and anything combustible. Basically, I have no confidence in PG&E anymore and don't trust their judgement on anything.
Yes, this policy is unacceptable and indefensible. And it's not like California is the only state with mountains, forests, and high winds. This describes the entirety of the Western US. Why have power companies in other states not had to resort to this?
Loss of electric power for days at a time in the hottest spells of the year is life threatening for many under the circumstances in which we live in 2019. Not to mention that it is economically catastrophic. Certainly there are alternative solutions far less disruptive, but I don't even hear them talked about.
PG&E needs to be doing all possible to maintain steady power availability throughout all weather conditions and we need to collectively hold them to account.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CrownVic95
Yes, this policy is unacceptable and indefensible. And it's not like California is the only state with mountains, forests, and high winds. This describes the entirety of the Western US. Why have power companies in other states not had to resort to this?
Loss of electric power for days at a time in the hottest spells of the year is life threatening for many under the circumstances in which we live in 2019. Not to mention that it is economically catastrophic. Certainly there are alternative solutions far less disruptive, but I don't even hear them talked about.
PG&E needs to be doing all possible to maintain steady power availability throughout all weather conditions and we need to collectively hold them to account.
Washington and to a lesser extent Oregon have a wetter climate for most of the year, and the hot, dry fire prone areas have less trees, and much less population, east of the cascades. This spring has been drier than usual here, however we still have green all over, and lawns have not needed watering yet. The forecast shows rain and high of 67 most of next week as we approach the first of July.
The following is a copy and paste from our local paper, called "The Paradise Post." Sorry, but I don't know how to prepare a direct link. Anyone with a computer can access it on the Internet.
I have my frail 92 year old mother crippled with arthritis living in my home. This outages will be occurring at usually the hottest time of the year. As a middle age able body person I can handle an outage on a 105 degree day. Its impossible to just pack her up and leave for the coast. She barely gets by in my home. There are many others like her in a place like Butte County with its large elderly population. Our summer weather is extremely hot and can be extremely dangerous to vulnerable individuals without power for their air conditioning. And "just get a generator" isn't that easy. You must have your home's electrical system fitted where it can be plugged in to power the central AC... and that takes quite a beefy generator to boot. It would be several thousand dollars all together and I don't have it.
A few weeks ago they shut off the power to much of Oroville area for one day due to a red flag warning. By the time they did it the wind had already died down (9PM) and even the next day it wasn't what you would call strong - more like a good breeze. Basically, they jumped the gun when it wasn't necessary. I would hope they would be a little more prudent next time and reserve these outages for the absolutely worst situation and not just every time its hot and the wind blows a little. This is the Central Valley - that's just the way it is here in the summer. Always has been.
Yes, Paradise was horrible. I fully understand that living this close to it. But its not necessary to shut off power in downtown Oroville or the Oro Dam Blvd retail strip (which is what they did last time). They're miles from the foothills and anything combustible. Basically, I have no confidence in PG&E anymore and don't trust their judgement on anything.
I have heard that in tropics people without a/c would wet and wring the bed sheet cover and sleep under it...
It might work for your Mom in long term power outage and heat?
I have my frail 92 year old mother crippled with arthritis living in my home. This outages will be occurring at usually the hottest time of the year. ...
Several here have made good suggestions and observations ... NoMoreSnow and HereonMars for example. I’m going to add one:
Trying to cool a full size home with a backup propane generator is going to obviously require a big, expensive unit. Expensive to purchase, install, and maintain and run.
Alternatively:
1. Designate one small room / area of the home that can run cool from a small AC and just run that one from a Honda or similar portable inverter generator unit outside the room window. Those inverter generators are super reliable, quiet and affordable and will run and run and run for days and weeks if necessary on very modest amounts of fuel.
2. Really better yet: buy a small RV, such as a trailer, with a roof AC ... because a very modest (Honda type) generator can run a small AC unit that can keep a small RV cool during heat waves. Many trailers even come with built-in generators/systems. Park the trailer / RV in shade obviously, or alternatively under a carport roof with natural air flow so the second roof acts as a ramada. This way you have full facilities to live in during any extended emergency level events.
This whole topic is a good example of why I often remark about the value of “simplistic living”. Our cultural evolution to large complex housing, with accompanying complexities of accoutrements, gadgetries, ‘labor-saving’ devices, geegaws and gimcracks, toys, electronics .... etc ad infinitum ad nauseam ... and the nightmares of associated hiccups large and small ... is a logistical nightmare at the least.
Washington and to a lesser extent Oregon have a wetter climate for most of the year, and the hot, dry fire prone areas have less trees, and much less population, east of the cascades. This spring has been drier than usual here, however we still have green all over, and lawns have not needed watering yet. The forecast shows rain and high of 67 most of next week as we approach the first of July.
There is a lot more to the west than Oregon and Washington. Aside from that, variations in climate are irrelevant to the acceptability of power shut-offs for up to days at a time.
PG&E must do whatever it takes to maintain power in its coverage area, regardless of the degree to which the challenges it must overcome may be greater than in some other areas. This policy is lawsuit-fueled hysteria and cannot be accepted as California's going-forward solution to the wildfire threat.
There will always be (and always have been) weather-generated emergencies that cause power outages. They happen infrequently anywhere and everywhere. They are understood and accepted as the nasty breaks that life throws our way from time to time. But we're talking about something altogether different here.
The sad reality is that California's demographics will likely allow PG&E to get away with this nonsense far longer than any company attempting it virtually anywhere else in the country. I'd like to see NorthWestern Energy try and float this idea in Montana. They know better than to even think about it.
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