A day to learn to deal with P.G. & E.
As you can see by Itzl's concerned look, this group gives Kossacks a safe place to check in, a daily diary where we can let people know we are alive, doing OK, and not affected by such things as heat, blizzards, floods, wild fires, hurricanes, tornadoes, power outages, earthquakes, or other such things that could keep us off DKos. It also allows us to find other Kossacks nearby for in-person checks when other methods of communication fail - a buddy system. If you're not here, or anywhere else on DKos, and there are adverse conditions in your area (floods, heatwaves, hurricanes, earthquakes etc.), we and your buddy are going to check up on you. If you are going to be away from your computer for a day or a week, let us know here. We care!
IAN is a great group to join, and a good place to learn to write diaries. Drop one of us a Kosmail and ask to be added to the Itzl Alert Network anytime! We all share the publishing duties, and we welcome everyone who reads IAN to write diaries for the group! Every member is an editor, so anyone can take a turn when they have something to say, photos and music to share, a cause to promote or news!
We do have a diary schedule. But, when you are ready to write that diary, either post in thread or send FloridaSNMOM a Kosmail with the date. If you need someone to fill in, ditto. FloridaSNMOM is here on and off through the day usually from around 9:30 or 10 am eastern to around 11 pm eastern.
Monday: Crimson Quillfeather
Tuesday: ejoanna
Wednesday: Pam from Calif
Thursday: art ah zen
Friday: FloridaSNMOM
Saturday: Gwennedd
Sunday: loggersbrat
Well that was some week, last week. Here in Northern CA we got, to put it charitably, mixed messages about when the “planned” PG&E power outages would occur, where they would occur, and how long they would last.
Hey, uncertainty is fun, right?
Grrrrr.
Mr. ej and I tried our best to prepare for the announced blackouts, called because of fire “weather” hereabouts, i.e., very low humidity, high temps, and very high winds. Batteries, small portable lights, ice—leaving the fridge closed as much as possible. And waited, cautiously. And appreciating every hour that the power stayed on.
We also monitored the blackout reports on TV and the Internet. And waited some more.
Turned out that we never lost power here at home. But we didn’t know that for sure until the week was over. We now know that power was out downtown and in other neighborhoods and schools in our town. Also in some neighboring towns. It was a crazy quilt of power on/power off. Some people lost power for 2-3 days. And the “fun” part was how unpredictable it all was.
One of the first events in this rolling blackout was. . . PG&E’s website crashed. So much for “further instructions.”
We experienced no high winds—or even moderate wind—in our area. Not at all. And that’s great, but where were the high winds that were main triggers for this outage event? Southern CA experienced some—and there may have been pockets of Northern CA affected by autumn winds, just not really in the SF Bay Area.
There was a NYTimes report that the Big Brass at PG&E met during the start of the power outage at a fine restaurant in Sonoma Co. (and one with power, one presumes) to wine and dine and “discuss.” They later regrouped into a less, um, Marie Antoinette scenario.
Thankfully, no big fires occurred. (There was a scattering of very small brushfires, quickly contained.) Much has been written about the why of shutting power off in such a sweeping way. It makes some sense. What is frustrating is that, by all reports, our giant power utility spent decades funneling profits to stockholders and not to, um, maintenance of poles, lines, other equipment. Anyway, that’s what has been reported. Is that true? I myself can’t prove it, but I do know that PG&E itself admits that it is way behind on maintenance: of equipment and of such preventive measures as systematic tree trimming.
A lot of people were not able to get to work during the outages; businesses lost, well, business. Food spoilage. Car accidents where traffic lights were out. Medical emergencies. The list goes on.
All seems calm right now. But I foresee more of these confused and confusing reactions to what is a real threat here in CA: wildfires.
Tuesday, Oct 15, 2019 · 5:59:20 AM +00:00 · ejoanna
Around 10:30 PM, PDT, 4.5 earthquake in the SF East Bay. A developing story. If it ain’t one disaster, it’s another. Or three.
And reported aftershocks, although I have not felt those the way I REALLY felt the first one. I’m in the North Bay.