LOS ANGELES (AP) – California will face its highest chance of blackouts this year as a brutal heat wave continues to blanket the state with triple-digit temperatures, officials warned.
As people crank up their air conditioners, the state forecasted record levels of energy use that could exceed supply on Monday evening, said Elliot Mainzer, president of California Independent System Operators, which runs the state’s electrical grid.
The state could fall 2,000 to 4,000 megawatts of electricity short of its power supply, which represents as much as 10 per cent of normal demand, he said.
State energy officials said the electrical load potentially could hit 51,000 megawatts soon, the highest demand ever seen in California.
The scorching heat and low humidity were further drying out brush and adding to the challenges of battling wildfires, said deputy chief with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection Anale Burlew.
Some 4,400 firefighters were battling 14 large fires around the state, and there were 45 new blazes on Sunday alone, she said.
In Southern California, two people were killed and one injured by the Fairview Fire, which started on Monday near the city of Hemet, the Riverside County Fire Department said.
