"Firefighters working in searing heat struggled to contain the largest wildfire in California this year while state power operators urged people to conserve energy after a huge wildfire in neighboring Oregon disrupted the flow of electricity from three major transmission lines.
A large swath of the West baked during the weekend in triple-digit temperatures that were expected to continue into the start of the work week. The California Independent System Operator that manages the state’s power grid issued a five-hour ”flex alert” starting at 4 p.m. Monday and asked consumers to “conserve as much electricity as possible” to avoid any outages.
California and other parts of the West are sinking deeper into drought and that has sent fire danger sky high in many areas. In Arizona, a small plane crashed Saturday during a survey of a wildfire in rural Mohave County, killing both crew members."
Christopher Weber reports for the Associated Press July 12, 2021.
SEE ALSO:
"Growing Oregon Wildfire Threatens CA Electric Transmission Lines, State Issues Grid Warning" (KQED)
"U.S. West Scorches Under Heat Wave, Death Valley Reaches 130 Degrees" (Reuters)
"Bootleg Fire in Oregon Scorches 143,000 Acres as Heat Wave Continues in the West" (New York Times)
"California Heat Wave Causes Misery As Temperature Records Fall" (Los Angeles Times)
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