Edhat Staff
By edhat staff
In an effort to prevent wildfires, California power companies are cutting electricity in high-risk areas throughout the state.
Southern California Edison (SCE) has cut the power to nearly 13,000 customers on Thursday from Fillmore to Rancho Cucamonga, mostly in unincorporated areas. Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E)’s outage map was down Thursday afternoon but the predicted areas in Northern California started in Eureka and extended down to Watsonville.
While SCE and PG&E provide service to the local area, Santa Barbara County was not considered for the current Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS). The Santa Barbara County Office of Emergency Management has been actively engaged with both utilities as elevated fire weather and winds continue to impact California.
It’s estimated that over 1 million people were without power in California on Thursday.
Santa Barbara residents are encouraged to go to www.ReadySBC.org to learn more about how to prepare for a potential PSPS event and register to receive notifications from local emergency response agencies should a PSPS event or other disasters occur within the county.
The community is invited to learn more about the PSPS program and information to help prepare for possible extended power outages on October 14 in Santa Maria. The meeting will be held at 5:30 p.m. at the County Government Center Hearing Room (511 East Lakeside Parkway, Santa Maria 93455). It will also be streamed live on the County’s YouTube channel “CSBTV20.”
If anyone needs power for medical reasons, or whatever, a generator is a good idea. My friends in Northern CA have their power off, it happens to go out fairly often so they have a generator. It automatically comes on when the power goes. They have had this one for 11 years, it is expected to last at least 5 more years. Someone comes to check it every year. Perfectly safe.
2 million people without power in California… Probably time to talk about a public takeover of the bankrupt (or nearly so) California power companies: https://thenextsystem.org/learn/stories/public-takeover-pge-radically-common-sense-proposal
Liquor store and pot shop visits necessary before the power goes out. Remember: dope will get you through times of no electricity better than electricity will get you through times of no dope. Same for liquor.
Hauling home a portable generator may not be safe but getting one properly installed by a knowledgeable person is not unsafe. Check what I wrote about my friends in Northern CA and the safety of theirs.
The “prior notification” thing hasn’t worked out so well. City of Thousand Oaks just tweeted that “SCE has initiated power shutoffs in areas of Thousand Oaks without prior notification.”
Here’s an on the ground report from Northern California by Juan Browne of the Blancolirio YouTube channel about the extended preemptive power outage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7m1xcX_X0wc He’s reporting from his small town of Nevada City. It’s the real deal, a multi day power outage. They are in day two. Watch and learn because this is coming our way one of these days. No gasoline, no refrigeration, no groceries.
Turn off the power to Sacramento. At least that way our representatives there won’t be able to make the situation worse.
My “source” is my brother in law? What nonsense. My source is my cousin who is getting a job with the new left green socialist coalition taking over CA!! Geez. No wonder we can’t have a conversation, much less an informed debate, about these issues. Channelfog, you have lost almost any credibility with this participant.
At least natural gas will be available for a few more years. Plans call for the elimination of the natural gas distribution network within a decade. This is ostensibly to make homes more Carbon neutral. The gas will however be burned at electric generator sites, and there are many electrical transmission losses, so the overall Carbon footprint will remain largely the same. The gas companies will benefit from having to maintain a much smaller distribution network to turbine generators only, putting many our of work. We are essentially heading back in time to the “Gold Medallion” all electric homes. Talk about 3rd world!
Channelfog – can you point me to a report where they are planning on the elimination of natural gas within a decade? I’ve heard some cities aren’t allowing new hook ups to homes – but nothing on the scale you’re talking about.
It’s our third day since our power was shut off here in Shasta county. We have a 7000 watt portable generator and have most things we require hooked to it. It costs $30 a day to run it from 7 am to 10 pm. The wind quit here yesterday but PG&E employees are driving around checking all the wires. Shasta college has no power and PG&E said it may be Sunday before it comes back on. I can hear at least 3 generators from my property. Wells for the water company and neighborhood cable junction boxes also have generators. I don’t think PG&E’s stock crashing yesterday will help get the power back on faster 🙁
Thanks for the report! I saw that the PSPS outage extended up into the Redding area. Where in Shasta County are you located? I grew up in Redding. I was in Mount Shasta last weekend getting our house ready for the winter. The only place I could get firewood was in Redding just off of Old Alturas Road. How are grocery stores and gas stations faring? Stay safe. At least it’s not 110F like a good old Redding summer day.
SEA DOG, with all the generators near you, do you or your family notice air quality impacts? Breathing problems?
Everyone around here has at least 2.5 acres and many properties are bigger. There are no generators with in 200 yards of my place except mine. My generator is new and I don’t smell any smoke standing right next to it. We keep it 100 feet away behind a wall and I can’t even hear it with the door closed.
I am in N Redding behind Shasta college. Redding and Shasta lake city are not on PG&E and still have the power on. We are all glad summer is over. We had the second hottest August ever … Except for the heat, I love it here. 5 big black tail bucks live in the bushes off my driveway. We even have some albino deer where I live. I could hunt deer, geese, quail and dove w/o leaving my porch. My property here is bigger than the entire M.H.P. where I lived on the East side of S.B.
How would someone quantify notic(ing) air quality impacts? Because of a handful of generators from CARB certified engines? One bum fire exceeds particulate release from multitudes of generators that are necessary due to our new 3rd world status…
CRISTINAS – so what? Do you expect him to drop all his work and fight fires or something? Even politicians can multitask…
WSJ reports today PG&E …”for years skimped on safety upgrades while pumping billions into green energy and electric-car subsidies to please its overlords in Sacramento.” (Our state legislators)
Olivas Fire, Ventura/Oxnard, smoke impacting #101. Fire started this morning in river bottom (another fire gift from drug addict/campers?) Followed here: https://twitter.com/ai6yrham?lang=en
There was an interesting interview with Katy Grimes, editor of the California Globe, last night, the gist of which was the PUC is comprised of five controlling liberal Democratic members, appointed by Jerry Brown and continuing with Newsom and is corrupt to the core. The ownership of the utility companies seek to maximize returns to their shareholders (nothing new with that in business) and have consequently not spent money on improving the infrastructures that would prevent or minimize wildfires. And Newsom just signed into law AB1054, which was approved by the legislature in a record four days, that passes the cost of damage caused by wildfires to the customers. (see https://californiaglobe.com/section-2/gov-newsom-signs-unconstitutional-wildfire-legislation-passing-costs-to-ratepayers/) This comes via new taxes on their utility bills to establish $10.5 billion for the fund. Thanks, Gavin, for your concern for your citizens. PG&E made massive campaign contributions to nearly every member of the legislature to secure passage of AB 1054 and that the utility “donated” $248,000 to help elect Gov. Gavin Newsom . Yep, you’ve been bought out once again, Gov. At least you won’t have to pay for anything next time a fire damages one of your Napa Valley vineyards, we’ll pay it for you.
My source is my brother in law who is retiring from SoCalGasCo management. Berkeley has already prohibited natural gas in new construction. It is all part of “The Green Raw Deal”. Channelfog
Power off, we lose: cell phone and cell towers, medical home equipment, lift chairs, hospital/electric beds, lights, refrigerator, AC/Heat, fans, air purifier, hair dryer, hair curler, electric toothbrush, tv, internet, garage door, toilet, electric stove, water heater, push button lock door knob (keyless lock), burglar alarm, gas station pumps, grocery store registers, restaurants, banking, automatic doors, elevators, fire hydrants, sprinklers indoors, street lights, intersection traffic lights, 911—no police, no fire, no ambulance.
Power out for a few hours and you softies start whining and bellyaching. You wanna talk sufferage? Chat with the Kurds betrayed by our fealty challengeD commander in chief.
It was bound to happen, apparently a man died up in Northern California after the PSPS outage caused his oxygen support equipment to stop functioning: https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2019/10/norcal-man-using-oxygen-tank-dies-within-minutes-of-deliberate-pge-power-outage-family-says/ Don’t let this happen to you, those you love, and those you know.
Either he was going to die in his sleep anyway that night, or the stress on his body from losing his oxygen machine pushed his already compromised health over the brink. All the family knows is that he was alive before the power outage but found dead after the power was off. Had the power stayed on and he passed in his sleep of natural causeS, that would be bad enough to process. Because he was found dead after the power outage his family will forever wonder if their dad would still be alive if the power stayed on.