Triple-Digit Heat Prompts Power Emergency
California's electricity grid manager declared a minor power emergency Wednesday as the state's operating energy reserve dipped below 7 percent.
The declaration of the Stage 1 emergency is the least worrisome of three steps preceding rolling blackouts, in which power is cut to certain regions to avoid a systemwide crash. The announcement triggered conservation efforts by state agencies and a general call for California's 37 million residents to turn down air conditioners and restrict the use of heavy appliances during hot afternoon hours.
For a second straight day, energy demand surged 1,000 megawatts above forecasts, according to the California Independent System Operator. If that trend continues on Thursday, California would set a new all-time record for energy demand and come close to using all the available electricity resources that are forecast for the state.
"We're tapping our operating reserves and we are stepping up our calls for conservation, but we are still a long way from a Stage 3 alert and blackouts," said Stephanie McCorkle, a spokeswoman for the independent system operator.
The agency manages the flow of power over lines owned by Pacific Gas and Electric Co., Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas and Electric Co., the state's largest investor-owned utilities.
Peak demand for Thursday is expected to be 49,572 megawatts, but McCorkle said that could be revised upward based on the trend of the past two days.
California's all-time record energy demand of 50,270 megawatts was set last July during a two-week heat wave blamed for hundreds of deaths.
Electricity is in scarce supply this week because temperatures are high simultaneously in the northern and southern parts of the state, as well as throughout the West.
Temperatures were expected to reach 108 on Thursday in Fresno and 103 in Sacramento, while ranging from 87 to 100 in the Los Angeles area. The San Francisco Bay area also was forecast to have above-average temperatures.
High temperatures throughout Arizona, New Mexico and much of the West also are complicating the state's efforts to pull in energy.
Sweltering temperatures have caused discomfort, and even deaths, across the country this summer. Last week the Arkansas Department of Health said six people have died this summer as a result of the sustained triple-digit temperatures baking the region; two of those deaths were of individuals working outside during the heat wave.
In Alabama, which has received long-sought relief in the form of thunderstorms, 12 deaths have been attributed to the weeks-long heat wave. At least four deaths were recorded in Georgia.
In Tennessee, where there have been 15 confirmed heat-related deaths during the current heat wave, authorities in Portland say a man helping build a house was found dead and his death may be related to the high temperatures.
Assistant Police Chief Richard Smith says fellow construction workers found Charles Brown, Jr., on the floor with both arms clutched over his chest. The 29-year-old Brown had been hanging drywall in a closet, which he says had no ventilation and was - in Smith's words - "horribly warm."
Brown had no known medical condition.
Although temperatures across Tennessee have retreated from triple digits, the high temperature in Nashville, about 30 miles southwest of Portland, was 97 degrees on Wednesday.
An excessive heat warning remains in effect in Cincinnati, where temperatures on Wednesday hit 100 degrees, the city's third record high this month. In a first, the Cincinnati Public Schools canceled classes on account of the heat, and schools will stay closed on Thursday.
In Arizona, Phoenix reached a milestone on Wednesday: 29 days of temperatures 110 degrees or higher in a single year. The previous record of 28 days was set in 1970 and matched in 2002, according to the National Weather Service.
The temperature hit 113 on Wednesday afternoon, matching the record high for Aug. 29 set in 1948 and 1981, Jamison said.
A heat advisory has been posted, with the weather service forecasting a high of 110 for Thursday, but cooler temperatures (105) expected later this week.
The weather service says urbanization and global climate change could be contributing factors to the heat.
CBS Affiliate KPHO meteorologist Steve Garry said it could be worse: "What's interesting about this is we set the 110-degree milestone without breaking any of the four hottest days on record in Phoenix," ranging from 118 on July 22, 1995, to 122, set on June 26, 1990.
The hottest day of 2007 was July 4, when the mercury hit 116.
Still, the string of broiling days was tough to deal with - even for lifelong Phoenix residents like Martin Milner, a construction worker who took a break under a rare shade tree.
"People say you'll get used to it, but you never get used to it," said Milner, who wore a bandanna under his black hard hat to stop the sweat from running down his face. "Every year it gets harder and harder and harder. This year it's just skyrocketed."
In California, the state Office of Emergency Services opened cooling centers at fairgrounds in eight Central Valley and Southern California counties. The state Department of Public Health also issued heat alerts to nursing care facilities.
"We want to make sure everything is being done to protect the most vulnerable," said Eric Lamoureux, spokesman for the emergency services department.
Reducing air conditioning use is one way to conserve energy, but the Independent System Operator says people whose health could be compromised should not put themselves at risk.
Among the tips the agency suggests: