Tag Archives: Heatwave

Firefighters hold ‘sleeping giant’ wildfire in check in California

Firefighters protecting property from a wildfire

By Alex Dobuzinskis

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – A stubborn wildfire stoked by triple-digit temperatures raged for a sixth day outside Santa Barbara in coastal Southern California on Monday as crews worked to keep the blaze some have called a “sleeping giant” in check, officials said.

So far, the so-called Sherpa Fire burning in chaparral and tall grass about 20 miles (32 km) northwest of Santa Barbara has led to the evacuation of hundreds of residents from ranches and campgrounds in the hilly area.

Authorities said they expected to begin allowing homeowners and farm laborers back into those areas on Wednesday, though county health and environment officials issued an air quality warning for smoke and falling ash from the fire.

The tally of acreage burned held at nearly 8,000 acres (3,237 hectares) since late Sunday, said Jim Schwarber, a spokesman for the multi-agency team combating the blaze.

The fire, which broke out last Wednesday in the Los Padres National Forest and was 54 percent contained by Monday, has been called a sleeping giant due to the triple-digit temperatures and dense, bone-dry brush in the area that has not burned in decades, he said.

“We’re working hard to keep that giant contained so it doesn’t wake up,” Schwarber said.

So far, the blaze has destroyed only one building – a water-treatment center at a campground, he said.

But it has threatened more than 200 structures and forced officials to close the 101 Freeway near the Pacific Coast periodically as flames crept to within less than a mile of the shore.

More than 1,900 firefighters were assigned to the blaze.

“Red flag warnings” were also posted for the mountains around Los Angeles on Monday as two fires erupted in the foothills of the Angeles National Forest north of the city.

One blaze, dubbed the Reservoir Fire, had consumed some 1,500 acres by late afternoon and prompted the evacuation of about 70 homes. The second blaze a few miles away devoured about 1,000 acres, U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman Lulu Castillo said.

About 160 miles farther south, firefighters battled flames roaring through dry brush and chaparral near the Mexican border for a second day, keeping the desert community of Potrero under evacuation.

That fire, about 50 miles southeast of San Diego, had charred more than 1,900 acres and was just 5 percent contained on Monday, California fire officials reported.

Two states away, the 6-day-old Dog Head Fire in central New Mexico has charred more than 17,000 acres and was 9 percent contained after destroying 24 homes.

(Additional reporting by Steve Gorman; Editing by Dan Grebler and Paul Tait)

California power grid prepares for heatwave, possible natgas shortage

By Scott DiSavino

(Reuters) – California will have its first test of plans to keep the lights on this summer following the shutdown of the key Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility as temperatures in the Los Angeles area are forecast to hit triple digits this week.

With record-setting heat and air conditioning demand expected in Southern California, the state’s power grid operator issued a so-called “flex alert,” urging consumers to conserve energy to help prevent rotating power outages – which could occur regardless.

Electricity demand is expected to rise during the unseasonable heatwave on Monday and Tuesday, with forecast system-wide use expected to top 45,000 megawatts, said the California Independent System Operator (ISO), which manages electricity flow through the state. That compares with a peak demand of 47,358 MW last year and the all-time high of 50,270 MW set in July 2006.

That could put stress on the power grid, particularly with the shut-in of Aliso Canyon, following a massive leak at the underground storage facility in October. The facility, in the San Fernando Valley, is the second largest storage field in the western United States, according to federal data, and therefore crucial for power generation.

All customers, including homes, hospitals, oil refineries and airports are at risk of losing power at some point this summer because a majority of electric generating stations in California use gas as their primary fuel. In April, millions of electric customers in Southern California were warned they could suffer power outages on up to 14 days this summer due to the closure.

The ISO said it was working with gas and power utilities and state energy agencies to mitigate potential reliability issues related to the limited operations at Aliso Canyon.

“We are confident we have a strong plan in place to meet the operational challenges posed by the upcoming hot temperatures,” ISO CEO Steve Berberich said, adding that consumer conservation efforts would be key.

ROTATING OUTAGES

Since the energy crisis of 2000-2001, the ISO has imposed short rotating outages in 2004, 2005, 2010 and 2015, mostly related to unexpected transmission line or power plant outages during periods of unusually high demand.

Southern California Gas (SoCalGas), the nation’s biggest gas distribution utility and owner of Aliso Canyon, detected the leak in October and plugged it in February.

SoCalGas is a unit of California energy company Sempra Energy.

State regulators will not allow SoCalGas to inject fuel into the facility until the company inspects all of its 114 wells.

Aliso Canyon is the biggest of four SoCalGas storage fields. It provides service to the region’s 17 gas-fired power plants, hospitals, refineries, and other key parts of California’s economy.

In the summer (April through October), SoCalGas strives to completely fill 86.2-billion cubic feet (bcf) Aliso Canyon to prepare for the upcoming winter heating season when gas demand peaks.

State regulators, however, ordered the company in January to reduce the amount of working gas in Aliso Canyon to just 15 bcf and use that fuel to reduce the risk of gas curtailments and power interruptions this summer.

Unlike some other gas transmission systems that can store large amounts of so-called linepack gas in pipelines, like PG&E Corp in northern California, SoCalGas cannot function with only pipeline or storage supplies.

That makes storage fields much more critical for SoCalGas and the 21 million residents it supports.

SoCalGas uses Aliso Canyon to provide gas to power generators that cannot be met with pipeline flows alone on about 10 days per month during the summer, according to state agencies.

(Reporting by Scott DiSavino; Editing by Joseph Radford)

Heat Waves, Droughts More Likely To Mix

Scientists have built the case that heat waves and droughts are now more likely to mix in the United States than at any point in the nation’s history.

“Despite an apparent hiatus in rising temperature and no significant trend in droughts, we show a substantial increase in concurrent droughts and heatwaves across most parts of the United States,” Omid Mazdiyasni and Amir AghaKouchak, who study climate and hydrology trends at UC Irvine, wrote in a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The study shows that in the 20 years between 1990 and 2010, heat waves and droughts took place simultaneously more frequently than between 1960 and 1980.  In most cases, the two overlapped more than 50% more during the latter period of time.

States along the southern portion of the nation faced the most occurrences of the combined factors.

The study also examined damage to society and overall health from the combination of the heat waves and drought.  They cited a situation in 2003 where Europe was struck with the combo and it lead directly or indirectly to 15,000 deaths in France.

Middle East Heatwave Kills 42 in Egypt

A heatwave scorching Egypt has left 42 people dead.

Egyptian officials said 21 people died on Sunday and 19 more died on Monday.  They added most of the dead were elderly people although they confirmed one German national, patients at a psychiatric hospital and some prisoners also died from the heat.

Temperatures in parts of the northern half of the country reached 120 and in the lower part of the nation topped 115.   The capital city of Cairo hit 105.

The heatwave has also caused power outages.  The Cairo subway was shut down due to power loss and many neighborhoods are getting one hour of power a day.

The heat wave is also causing problems in other nations.

In Beirut, Lebanon, which is on the Mediterranean coast, temperatures are in the 90’s but with 50% or greater humidity the conditions are almost unbearable.

“We had electricity from 3am to 6am last night, and the power comes on one hour during the day,” said Hasan, who lives in Beirut’s southern suburbs, where power cuts have been especially dire during the heatwave. “Officials sit in their offices with electricity.”

On Friday, the heat and humidity in Bandar Mahshahr, Iran, combined to give a feeling of a temperature of 165.

“That was one of the most incredible temperature observations I have ever seen and it is one of the most extreme readings ever in the world,” said AccuWeather Meteorologist Anthony Sagliani in a statement.