California heat wave stokes power outage concerns across much of state, North Bay

A blistering heat wave stretching across much of California is raising concerns over potential rolling power blackouts and heat-related illnesses, prompting the governor to declare a state of emergency and local officials to brace for ways to respond.

Charles M. Schulz-Sonoma County Airport could see temperatures as high as 106 degrees by Sunday and on Labor Day, according to the National Weather Service. Even in downtown Santa Rosa, where the forecast high is 102 degrees, the heat looks poised to break records, including the high of 101 for Monday set in 2008.

The other hotspot in Sonoma County is Cloverdale, where the high is also set to reach 106 degrees Sunday and Monday.

Thursday afternoon the weather service upgraded some parts of the Bay Area from an Excessive Heat Watch to a Heat Advisory lasting through the holiday weekend. That included the coastal hills in Marin County, the shoreline of San Francisco Bay and northern Monterey Bay, said Warren Blier, a meteorologist for the weather service.

An Excessive Heat Warning still covers most of the interior Bay Area, excluding much of the coast.

A heat warning is issued in events of extremely dangerous heat conditions and comes with the risk of serious illness or even death. An advisory means conditions are particularly dangerous to heat sensitive groups and those without access to adequate cooling or hydration.

With an extended period of dangerously hot temperatures, the California Independent System Operator, the state’s power grid manager, extended a statewide Flex Alert asking residents to reduce electricity for a second consecutive day to stave off potential rolling blackouts.

In an attempt to avoid overly straining the grid as energy demand spikes during the dangerously hot weather, Gov. Gavin Newsom also proclaimed a state of emergency late Wednesday to take last-ditch measures in keeping people’s lights and air conditioners on for the weekend.

By Thursday afternoon, the grid operator had not signaled any plans for rotating outages.

Because of this, “PG&E does not have any plans for a weather-caused Public Safety Power Shutoff, but the company’s meteorology team will continuously monitor conditions,” the utility serving most of Northern and Central California said in a news release.

The city of Santa Rosa plans to open a a cooling center at the Finley Community Center at 2060 W. College Ave. Saturday through Monday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. each day.

Brayden Murdock, a weather service meteorologist, recommended people have a plan to escape the heat this weekend and a backup plan in case the original one falls through.

“If your plan is to go to the beach, other people will have that plan as well,” he said.

One of the biggest public health worries for the weather service is the lack of serious overnight cooling, especially in higher elevations such as Mount St. Helena which will see nighttime lows remain in the 70s.

In Santa Rosa and Cloverdale, lows could be in the 60s.

But, “64 after 106 isn’t exactly relief,” Murdock said.

In Mendocino and Humboldt counties, temperatures will be fairly similar, soaring into the triple digits, Murdock said.

In Southern California, wildfires prompted mandatory evacuations in Southern California, shutting down stretches of Interstate 5 and causing at least eight firefighters to get heat-related injuries.

In the Bay Area, weather forecasters are only predicting very light wind, which means it does not meet criteria warranting a red flag warning, Murdock said. But people should still stay alert for heightened fire danger, he added.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.

You can reach Staff Writer Alana Minkler at 707-526-8511 or alana.minkler@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @alana_minkler.