Heat advisory in effect until Aug. 20
A rare summer thunderstorm that boomed across Sonoma County early Sunday morning amid a searing heat wave knocked out Healdsburg’s power after the city lost its transmission feed from PG&E. Windsor and Cloverdale were also hit with power outages, some part of the rolling blackouts that swept the state in the wake of record high temperatures, while others from the lightning strikes that peppered the area.
The Windsor outage even caused the school district to delay its start of school by one day.
Healdsburg outage
The Healdsburg outage occurred in the early hours of Aug. 16 and while the city of Healdsburg gets its power from its own electric grid the transmission line is run by PG&E. Both the main feed and the backup feed were hit by lightning strikes, according to a statement from the city posted to their Facebook page at 6:45 a.m. Sunday morning.
Power was restored to the Healdsburg area later that morning around 7:30 a.m., however due to the record breaking heat wave, the city warned that people throughout California and Healdsburg should be prepared for likely rolling blackouts during the late afternoons and early evenings through Thursday, Aug. 20.
Windsor outage
Power went out to approximately 3,500 homes in Windsor on Sunday morning. While some areas had power again by around 4 p.m. that afternoon, but several areas still didn’t have power by nightfall, and others received notices that they would not have power until noon on Monday.
Because of these uncertainties, and the fact that these outages were separate from any potential rolling blackout outages, the Windsor Unified School District announced on Sunday night they would be delaying the start of school.
“As you may know, there are multiple power outages in the Windsor area,” read a brief announcement from Windsor Superintendent Jeremy Decker. “PG&E is working now, and currently estimates restoration by noon tomorrow, Aug. 17. Therefore, there will be no classes Monday, Aug. 17, 2020. At this time we plan to resume classes Tuesday, Aug. 18.”
At 4 p.m. on Monday, Decker used a similar announcement to usher in the start of school on the 18th.
“Thank you for your understanding with regard to delaying the start of school by one day. It was reported by PG&E that the majority of our school sites, and much of the east side of Windsor was going to be without power until 12 p.m. today. As all of our instruction is online, it seemed prudent to delay the start of school until we could ensure that we would have power,” the statement said. “At this time, we are projected to have power tomorrow, Aug. 18. Therefore, we are planning to begin school tomorrow morning. I know we are all eager to get the school year started, and we can’t wait to see you on Zoom.”
The Sonoma County Fire District upstaffed resources Sunday afternoon, adding more fire engines and firefighters out in the community to patrol for any signs of smoke in the area.
Cloverdale and Geyserville outages
While the power outages were not as widespread in Cloverdale, they continued through Monday, and have hit certain neighborhoods hard.
Cloverdale in particular seems to be getting the effect of the rolling blackouts, with residents reporting short but widespread outages in the afternoons.
In Geyserville, the storms took out the phones at the Northern Sonoma County Fire District headquarters, and sparked a 2-acre vegetation fire off Stewarts Point Skaggs Springs Road. The fire crew also responded to multiple spot fires throughout Sunday and Monday, though all were contained quickly.
How to avoid the rolling blackouts
Sonoma County, including the city of Healdsburg which has its own grid, is powered by lines that are part of the 26,000 circuit miles of transmission lines in California operated by the California Independent System Operator (ISO) and when power grids are strained and when demand is higher than supply, it can lead to brief periods of electrical outages.
In response, the ISO has issued a statewide Flex Alert, a call for voluntary electricity conservation, through Aug. 20. The alert is in effect from 3 to 10 p.m. each day.
To help conserve energy there are a few simple steps folks can take between the flex hours:
– Set air conditioning thermostats to 78 degrees, if health permits.
– Defer use of major appliances.
– Turn off unnecessary lights.
– Unplug unused electrical devices.
– Close blinds and drapes.
– Use fans when possible.
– Limit time the refrigerator door is open.
Unfortunately, the need to reduce energy comes during an excessively hot heat wave. On Aug. 16 the National Weather Service issued a heat advisory for much of the Bay Area, which is in effect until 9 p.m. on Aug. 20.
According to the advisory, impacts of such a heat wave include, “Record or near record heath with many high temperatures 95 to 108. Little relief due to warm overnight lows. Highs in the 80s will be common at many beaches. Increased risk of heat related illness, heat exhaustion and heat stroke.”
Red Flag Warning
On the same day, the weather service issued a Red Flag Warning for the San Francisco Bay Area that lasted from Saturday evening, Aug. 15, to Sunday morning, Aug. 16. That red flag warning was then extended until the Aug. 17.
According to a Nixle from the Sonoma County Fire District, the warning was issued due to a “A moist and unstable air mass (that was) forecast to spread across Northern California late tonight and Sunday, bringing thunderstorms and lightning. Storms are expected to be fast-moving, resulting in low precipitation totals. Dry humidity values and fuels will favor fire starts from lightning strikes.”
To keep up to date on flex alerts and power, visit: https://www.facebook.com/TheCMUA.
To keep up to date on weather advisories and Red Flag Warnings, visit: https://www.facebook.com/NWS.
Record breaking temps
Santa Rosa tied it’s high temperature record with 106, but Sonoma County wasn’t the only hot place this past weekend. According to the National Weather Service several places throughout the state experienced record breaking temperatures.
-Death Valley, CA set a record on Sunday of 130, the highest recorded temperature since 1913.
-Sacramento, CA saw a record of 112
-Los Angeles, CA saw a high of 93.
