Just moments ago,
California's independent operator
declared an emergency alert Level 3.
You might have seen this
come across on your phone.
This means that we need to
prepare for rolling blackouts.
Demand is dropping so much
the capacity which is causing
extreme strain on the power grid.
Meanwhile, we are dealing with
more extreme and dangerous heat.
Here are tonight's heat headlines
that you need to know right now.
There is an excessive heat warning
right now for most of California.
Now Flex Alert is also in effect again
now until 9:00 PM with the state's
electric grid operator warning customers
to be prepared for possible outages.
And today, downtown Sacramento breaks
an all time record high of 116 degrees.
We have team coverage of the historic heat,
starting with chief
meteorologist Monica Woods.
And you called it Monica,
a record-breaking day.
Yeah, breaking that old record set
back almost 100 years ago in 1925.
Other records broken for today,
you can see up and down the.
Forward here.
It was an extreme event this afternoon.
Downtown Sacramento with
that all time high of 116,
Sacramento executive and Stockton
as well as Modesto Daily Records
as well as September records.
So we have never been this hot
in the month of September.
We got a big jump start on those
afternoon highs because our morning
lows also record setting either tying
or breaking records throughout the
valley with readings in the low to mid 70s.
A bit of cloud cover this
morning too capping that heat.
Not a lot of cooling overnight now.
In terms of tonight,
we are seeing just a trickle
of an onshore flow.
So Sacramento were down to degrees from
where we were last night at this time.
It's still putting us deep into extreme
territory here with temperatures in the one,
hundreds for the valley and the
foothills near 90 for the Sierra.
As we continue to track the
opportunity for thunderstorms tonight,
excessive heat warning continues
through Friday.
Again,
extreme conditions persisting
throughout the entire state.
That's why Laura was mentioning
all the concerns that we have
for the power grid over towards
the coast heat advisory.
Place through Thursday mostly for
interior communities where Livermore
yesterday also hitting an all time
record high in the Gilmore Backyard
mixed weather News good we've got
cooling coming the bad news is
higher fire danger developing as
well tonight it'll be noticeably
different in terms of those overnight
lows we're going to be cooling a
little bit more that will help to
ease the pressure from the power
grid and how we can cool our homes
as well with lows dropping into
the low to mid 70s tomorrow.
Still some dangerous heat
and we'll talk about.
80s ahead in the forecast, Laura.
Alright Monica,
thank you.
More than 4000 PG&E customers in West
Sacramento lost power around 3:30 today.
The utility says it was caused
by the weather and just moments
ago the power was restored.
They didn't say if this was part
of a plan to rolling blackout.
ABC 10s Jacquimo Lucas gathering
information right now on this outage.
He'll have an update for you at 6:30.
On to the point with Alex Bell now as
we move into the peak heat of the day.
Along with it comes peak electricity usage,
which could lead to rolling
blackouts ABCABC 10s.
Jay Kim has what you need to know in
case the power goes out of your home.
Well, certainly everyone is feeling
the effects of this extreme heat,
and as temps rise,
so does demand for electricity,
which is why Cal ISO has issued a flex
alert for the 7th day in a row as concerns
over rotating blackouts continue.
We live in Eldorado Hills,
so last year we had a lot of them.
We have a generator.
So we help out with the generator
if we turn it on, if we have to.
While rolling blackouts are a last resort to
maintain stability of the electrical grid,
it can be extremely uncomfortable for
people at home without generators who
aren't sure how long the outage would last.
Crews from PG&E are standing by.
If Kyle also does direct PG&E
and other utilities to go to
a rotating outage scenario,
we want customers to be prepared.
So charge up your cell phones.
Have extra batteries ready.
We recommend not using candles.
Candles can be a fire hazard.
And there are some other things
you can do at home to prepare,
like buying non perishable foods
and checking in with your doctor,
especially if you use a device
that needs power or have medication
that needs refrigeration.
Also, make sure the batteries
in your carbon monoxide detector
are working and try to precool
your home in the morning.
If it's cooler in your area early
in the morning or late in the
evening, open up your windows.
Bring that cool air in
in the event of a shutoff.
Experts say to not open your fridge.
That's because the closed refrigerator
will keep food cold for four hours.
While the full freezer can maintain
its temperature for about 48 hours,
flex alerts have helped Californians
avoid power outages during
past periods of high demand.
And PG&E says it's important for
everyone to play their part by setting
the thermostat to 78 degrees from
4:00 to 9:00 PM and not using high
power appliances during peak demand.
This is an all hands on deck scenario
for PG&E we have crews ready to go.
We have equipment. Pretty staged,
but if everyone does their part,
we won't have to move to a
rotating outage scenario
and for those who don't
have air conditioning?
Or experience a power outage.
There are several cooling
centers open across our region.
To see a full list,
head to our website, abc10.com.
We are all feeling the effects
of today's blazing heat.
That's especially true for firefighters,
who face the added strain of
working while surrounded by flames.
Roxanne Elias has a closer look.
It's hot out, but imagine having
to come out a fire in triple digit
temperatures while wearing fire gear.
It might as well be 150 degrees sometimes
when you're in when you're in a 500 to
700 degree building wearing your gear.
But just because we're on a heat wave,
it doesn't mean the fires and calls to
firefighters stop this fire in Midtown.
Happening Tuesday morning at the beginning of
Sacramento Fire departments 48 hour shift,
we had a report initially
that there were two victims.
Possibly inside.
Reports of squatters had been
staying in this in this location,
so the firefighters did make
an interior attack initially,
did a quick down and dirty
search for the resident.
So to make of the church to make
sure that no one was inside,
we quickly got out.
No one was inside.
But in another scenario,
an unattended barbecue on Labor
Day caught 2 duplexes on fire.
We had a total of 4 units on fire.
That's destruction that's going
to displace multiple families.
And it's very sad because it's just
something as simple as keeping an eye
on a BBQ or having a hose line ready,
a garden hose or a bucket of water so
you can extinguish those flames. Because
of situations like these,
firefighters are asking you not
to have a BBQ or anything flame
related on days like today,
especially as they expect it to
be a long day ahead as crews
fight fires and save lives
from Sacramento Fire Department or
we're messaging our members early
with safety messages to hydrate,
hydrate, hydrate. Keep drinking,
try to get in school environments.
We will do our best to rehab these
firefighters as fast as possible.
Get them rotated out.
And Zack Metro Fire District
also tells US firefighters
train in the heat in their gear,
and they are prepared to work
in these types of conditions.
Crews also check on each other
for signs of heat exhaustion.
Now, the best way to avoid the heat,
of course, is to stay inside
and keep the AC on.
Really, that's an ideal situation,
but thousands of people in our
area don't have that option.
Alright is impacting very severely.
Umm. I fight daily to keep my sanity.
For people living in tents in Miller Park,
the extreme temperatures are making
living conditions even more unbearable.
One person living in the tent community
along the river says she's grateful
for the resources provided by the city.
It keeps us with ice.
They keep us with Mr they
just bought some new misters.
For us, they we got a ice machine
that they gonna hook up next week.
The city of Sacramento says they're
extending cooling center hours
through Friday from 2:00 PM to 10:00
PM you can stay up to date on the
extreme heat anytime, anywhere.
Just download the free ABC 10 app
in the Apple Store or Google Play.