By Jacob Pierce
Small fires popped up around the San Francisco Bay and Monterey Bay early Sunday morning as rare lightning storms struck the area, during what has already been a wild weekend for weather in Northern California and along the Central Coast.
At the end of a day in which temperatures soared higher than 100 degrees in some areas, rolling blackouts began rippling through the state for the second day in a row. Saturday’s blackouts affected PG&E customers in parts of Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Joaquin counties. Friday and Saturday marked the first time since 2001 that the state saw rolling blackouts to conserve energy. The California Independent System Operator is asking residents to conserve energy and turn thermostats to 78 degrees or higher during the current heat wave.
Some PG&E customers in Morgan Hill reported they have been notified that the utility company may shut off electricity some time between 3pm and 10pm Aug. 17. According to the PG&E website, the rotating blackouts typically last one to two hours per region.
The outages are not like the public safety power outages in the past, PG&E said Saturday. Those outages are implemented during California’s fire season when weather conditions threaten to increase the chance of a blaze being lit and spreading quickly.
Elsewhere in California, the Sacramento Bee reported Saturday that a firenado had erupted in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.
Additional reporting by Janice Bitters.
