Historic heat wave pushes California’s grid to the limit

The high temperatures are bringing increased risk of wildfire and serious public health risks.
Natasha Geiling
Sep 1, 2017, 10:38 am

What’s worse than record-breaking heat at the beginning of September? In California, the answer seems to be record-breaking heat mixed with smoke from numerous wildfires, which threaten to keep residents indoors this weekend as they attempt to escape both the high temperatures and dangerous air quality.

From San Francisco to Los Angeles, California is bracing for a weekend of potentially historic heat, with temperatures forecasted to climb as high as 115°F in some areas of the state. That heat is helping to fuel wildfires, which have broken out in the Sacramento Valley and around Los Angeles. An air pollution specialist with the state’s Air Resources Board urged people especially susceptible to health problems from smoke — the asthmatic, the elderly, or people with weakened immune systems — to remain indoors throughout Friday and Saturday.

But pushing its population indoors comes with its own set of risks for the state, which could see record-breaking levels of demand for power, as residents try to stay cool with the help of air conditioners. If too many homes and businesses demand power, it could overwhelm the grid, potentially causing a series of blackouts. In an effort to avoid that, the state has requested that Californians refrain from using major appliances between 1 p.m. and 10 p.m. on Friday.

In Los Angeles, which has seen sweltering temperatures for nearly a week, residents have already set a new record for peak electricity demand — and temperatures are only expected to climb into the weekend. Overwhelming demand worked some equipment in the city to the point of failure, leaving more than 11,000 residents without power between Wednesday night and Thursday morning.

This is hardly the first record-breaking heat wave to make headlines during the summer of 2017. Earlier this month, oppressive heat throughout Eastern Europe, France, Italy, and Spain was responsible for at least six deaths and the outbreak of several wildfires. The Pacific Northwest also had to contend with extremely high heat combined with smoke from wildfires in Canada earlier this month, creating a situation similar to what is being seen now in California where high temperatures combine with wildfire to create dangerous air quality, fueling concerns about public health. And in Arizona earlier this summer, it was so hot that planes literally could not take off: at least 38 flights out of Phoenix were grounded as temperatures climbed near 120 degrees Fahrenheit.

Extreme heat is one of the signature characteristics of climate change, and abnormally warm temperatures are becoming increasingly common as climate change progresses. Since the 1980s, the occurrence of unusually hot temperatures has been rising across the globe.

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