Friday, May 03, 2013

California Wildfire Season Has Begun, Threatening Electricity Supply

By Douglas V. Gibbs

The Santa Ana winds were whipping up pretty strong, and the heat of the coming summer season was in full dress rehearsal.  A perfect combination for wildfires, and as expected, the fires began to emerge.  The big one began in Camarillo, marched to the Pacific Ocean, threatens Malibu, and has begun to scorch parts of the shooting range at Naval Base Ventura County.  Thousands of homes have been evacuated, and full containment is expected by May 14.

In Banning, a community on the edge of the desert run towards Palm Springs, just east of where Riverside and San Bernardino Counties hug County Line Road, another fire erupted.  The I-10 Freeway was smoke covered as the fire spread to Yucaipa, and the winds continued to roar.

At Glendale, very near the City of Los Angeles, due to a new fire there, the 2 Freeway was shut down.  San Diego County also experienced a couple blazes.

Fire season is here, and I am waiting for someone to blame man-made global warming for it.

The anemic rainy season, giving us about 17% of the precipitation we are supposed to have, also has played a part in the May start of our fire season, which will continue through October.

The only saving grace is that we are expecting rain Sunday night.  Hopefully, that will help the effort to stop the various blazes throughout the State.

The real kicker is that since the San Onofre Nuclear Power Plant has been down, which provided a massive amount of locally generated power, the State is buying electricity from outside the area.  The fires are threatening to disrupt that delivery system as various lines go down under the onslaught of the voracious fires.

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary

Southern California fire season off to a sinister start - Los Angeles Times

California Wildfires: Fires in Riverside and San Diego Break Out - Los Angeles Times

New Evacuation ordered in California wildfire - CBS News

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