“Our hearts go out to the families of our brave wildland firefighters,” an Arizona Bureau of Land Management spokesperson said in a statement.
In California, officials asked all residents to reduce power consumption quickly after a major wildfire in southern Oregon knocked out interstate power lines, preventing up to 5,500 megawatts of electricity from flowing south into the state.
The California Independent System Operator, which runs the state’s power grid, said Saturday the Bootleg Fire took three transmission lines off-line, straining electricity supplies as temperatures in the area soared.
“The Bootleg Fire will see the potential for extreme growth today,” the National Weather Service in Medford, Oregon, tweeted Sunday.
Governors Wind Energy Coalition
Solar on farmland could help California keep the lights on – Los Angeles Times Source: By Sammy Roth, Los Angeles Times • Posted: Sunday, July 11, 2021
To the extent most Californians are thinking about energy right now, they’re probably wondering whether the lights will stay on during the next heat wave.
It’s a reasonable fear, especially after the state’s power grid operator issued an urgent call for electricity supplies last week and warned of possible shortfalls this summer. The California Independent System Operator is seeking bids from power plants that can fire up after sundown, when solar panels stop generating but air conditioners keep humming.
July 12, 2021
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) Firefighters struggled to contain an exploding Northern California wildfire under blazing temperatures as another heat wave blanketed the West, prompting an excessive heat warning for inland and desert areas.
Death Valley in southeastern California’s Mojave Desert reached 53 Celsius on Saturday, according to the National Weather Service’s reading at Furnace Creek. The shockingly high temperature was actually lower than the previous day, when the location reached 54 Celsius.
If confirmed as accurate, the 130-degree reading would be the hottest high recorded there since July 1913, when Furnace Creek desert hit 57 Celsius, considered the highest measured temperature on Earth.
Statewide Flex Alert Issued for Monday Due to Heat, Wildfires Brenda Gregorio-Nieto
FILE
The California Independent System Operator (ISO) has issued a statewide Flex Alert for Monday, July 12.
The statewide alert will be in effect from 4 to 9 p.m. on July 12 as temperatures continue to soar and transmission lines from a growing wildfire in southern Oregon continue to be unreliable, the ISO said.
With transmission lines from Oregon still unreliable due to #BootlegFire & continued high temperatures, the California ISO issued a statewide #FlexAlert for Monday, July 12, from 4-9 p.m. Consumers are urged to #conserveenergy to help stabilize the grid. https://t.co/PQHFuzyHyxpic.twitter.com/PZtz8SE4Xn California ISO (@California ISO) July 12, 2021