California Wildfires

[herbu]

I saw on the news that a power company in California is cutting power for 2M people to reduce the risk of wildfire. Really? I wonder how many of those 2M people depend on electric cars. Funny.

 

[highfigh]

I saw on the news that a power company in California is cutting power for 2M people to reduce the risk of wildfire. Really? I wonder how many of those 2M people depend on electric cars. Funny.

Which is more important- people being able to charge their cars, or preventing wild fires?

 

[Midwesthonky]

I saw on the news that a power company in California is cutting power for 2M people to reduce the risk of wildfire. Really? I wonder how many of those 2M people depend on electric cars. Funny.

The bad part is the people who rely on electricity for their critical medical devices like oxygen machines, etc. Most have battery backups for hours, not days. That is how sad PG&E's maintenance program has been for decades. Maintenance has been so bad that it's safer to cut power to millions than deal with the problems that do come up.

 

[highfigh]

The bad part is the people who rely on electricity for their critical medical devices like oxygen machines, etc. Most have battery backups for hours, not days. That is how sad PG&E's maintenance program has been for decades. Maintenance has been so bad that it's safer to cut power to millions than deal with the problems that do come up.

PG&E has been a debacle for decades. OTOH, I heard that from my cousin's husband and he worked for SoCal Edison, so.....

 

[slipperybidness]

For you Cali folks.......how realistic is it that shutting off the power would help prevent wild fires?

That just seems completely stupid to me!

Many people may not realize, but there are basically 3 power grids for the USA: East Coast, West Coast, and Texas.

The Texas grid tends to be the most reliable, I would think for obvious reasons (i.e. industry). The only thing for TX, there have been times of rolling blackouts or brownouts due to extremely high demand on extremely hot days.

And, most people likely don't realize that TX is one of (or maybe the biggest) producers of wind generated power too.

 

[slipperybidness]

found this:

 

[panteragstk]

For you Cali folks.......how realistic is it that shutting off the power would help prevent wild fires?

That just seems completely stupid to me!

Many people may not realize, but there are basically 3 power grids for the USA: East Coast, West Coast, and Texas.

The Texas grid tends to be the most reliable, I would think for obvious reasons (i.e. industry). The only thing for TX, there have been times of rolling blackouts or brownouts due to extremely high demand on extremely hot days.

And, most people likely don't realize that TX is one of (or maybe the biggest) producers of wind generated power too.

Yep. I go visit my parents in west Texas and there are windmills as far as you can see in some places. Those things are all over the place out there.

I did read that they aren't very good at generating power though. At least not enough to replace other forms of power generation.

 

[slipperybidness]

Yep. I go visit my parents in west Texas and there are windmills as far as you can see in some places. Those things are all over the place out there.

I did read that they aren't very good at generating power though. At least not enough to replace other forms of power generation.

"Not good at generating power"?

That really doesn't tell us anything. Do they mean, not efficient?

The basics are pretty much all the same for any electric motor or electric generator, it's just a matter of how you spin it to convert mechanical energy into electrical energy.

I would suspect that what you were reading may have been funded by Big Oil!

 

[panteragstk]

"Not good at generating power"?

That really doesn't tell us anything. Do they mean, not efficient?

The basics are pretty much all the same for any electric motor or electric generator, it's just a matter of how you spin it to convert mechanical energy into electrical energy.

I would suspect that what you were reading may have been funded by Big Oil!

Not that, it would just take a whole lot of them to win over coal.

You're probably right about what I read, it was a while ago and IIRC it was basically how wind is great, but we need too many wind farms for it to be practical, but if you combine wind with solar and dams then the overall picture gets better. Apparently coal plants are closing, that's absolutely a good thing...unless you thought your coal job was going to come back.

This was a pretty basic read, but still informative.

 

[slipperybidness]

Not that, it would just take a whole lot of them to win over coal.

You're probably right about what I read, it was a while ago and IIRC it was basically how wind is great, but we need too many wind farms for it to be practical, but if you combine wind with solar and dams then the overall picture gets better. Apparently coal plants are closing, that's absolutely a good thing...unless you thought your coal job was going to come back.

This was a pretty basic read, but still informative.

Well, not every geographic location is suitable for wind generation, that is certain. West Texas is just about ideal, with rolling plains to allow for good wind, and sparsely populated to allow for thousands of turbines. Agreed, it takes a LOT of wind turbines to get equal power from a coal or ng fired plant. And, no wind = no power.

Yeah, shutting down coal fired plants is absolutely a good thing, it is/was one of the absolute worst pollutants, and not just from the combustion products that contribute to acid rain and global warming.

On the other hand, natural gas turbines are not nearly as bad as coal. All along the Gulf Coast, it is not uncommon to find refineries that have their own power turbines fired from NG.

In another life, I did my fair share of smoke stack testing for refineries and power plants, and tuning engines on the NG pipelines.

 

[ryanosaur]

Surprised none of the other Cali friends have chimed in... wait... no I’m not. @Russdawg1 and @NorCalRP , and a whole slew of others are probably in the dark right now.
PG&E is a wreck. The whole concept of the outages was a lie... I think ‘surgical’ was an adjective they used to describe how they would shut down parts of the grid. Instead, huge swaths have been shuttered in a scorched earth type approach to prevent... well, scorched earth.
One of the biggest things that had people so angry is that after this weather is over, it could still take an additional 2-5 days for power to be restored as crews still have to inspect everything before re-powering the grid.
SMDH
I’m in a very small area in Sonoma County that didn’t get shut down. *knocks on wood. But two years ago, when parts of Santa Rosa burned, we had a spot fire less than 1mile from our home. Local FD got it out, but that put some fear in us for certain.
Considering PG&E is responsible for some of the problems, not all, I’m glad they are trying something... but it’s like they are trying to swat flies with a shoelace. Or more appropriately, swat fruit flies with chicken wire. *shrugs
But the fire last year that burned Paradise was started by a guy with a hammer trying to close a wasp nest! Who is protecting us from that? Or the local that is still shooting off bottle rockets... or the homeless camp where a campfire gets whipped up in some wind...
There are a lot of problems beyond just the two major power companies in CA.

 

[slipperybidness]

Surprised none of the other Cali friends have chimed in... wait... no I’m not. @Russdawg1 and @NorCalRP , and a whole slew of others are probably in the dark right now.
PG&E is a wreck. The whole concept of the outages was a lie... I think ‘surgical’ was an adjective they used to describe how they would shut down parts of the grid. Instead, huge swaths have been shuttered in a scorched earth type approach to prevent... well, scorched earth.
One of the biggest things that had people so angry is that after this weather is over, it could still take an additional 2-5 days for power to be restored as crews still have to inspect everything before re-powering the grid.
SMDH
I’m in a very small area in Sonoma County that didn’t get shut down. *knocks on wood. But two years ago, when parts of Santa Rosa burned, we had a spot fire less than 1mile from our home. Local FD got it out, but that put some fear in us for certain.
Considering PG&E is responsible for some of the problems, not all, I’m glad they are trying something... but it’s like they are trying to swat flies with a shoelace. Or more appropriately, swat fruit flies with chicken wire. *shrugs
But the fire last year that burned Paradise was started by a guy with a hammer trying to close a wasp nest! Who is protecting us from that? Or the local that is still shooting off bottle rockets... or the homeless camp where a campfire gets whipped up in some wind...
There are a lot of problems beyond just the two major power companies in CA.

Oddly (or maybe not),but Texas is one of the fastest growing populations in the country. And, the largest group moving to TX is coming from CA!

It sucks! It's a big part of what has ruined Austin in the last 5 years, it just ain't what it used to be!

There is a saying, not sure where it started, "Don't California My Texas!"

I'm not even trying to be political about this, I'm just giving my observation at ground zero.

EDIT: We call the Cali transplants, "Cali-foreigners"

 

[ryanosaur]

Oddly (or maybe not),but Texas is one of the fastest growing populations in the country. And, the largest group moving to TX is coming from CA!

It sucks! It's a big part of what has ruined Austin in the last 5 years, it just ain't what it used to be!

There is a saying, not sure where it started, "Don't California My Texas!"

I'm not even trying to be political about this, I'm just giving my observation at ground zero.

EDIT: We call the Cali transplants, "Cali-foreigners"

Ha! Ya, I've heard about people moving down there. Not directly familiar with any. I would go north if I had my way. I think I'd be happy in some parts of Oregon. Maybe end up somewhere close to Lovin' and have subwoofer battles across the valley, perhaps.
If everything, the saddest part is also what helped make the Bay so great... the Tech industry both created and destroyed life here. I witnessed first-hand the insane bidding wars for apartments in The City (SF) where people were offering bribes on top of paying say 6mos rent down... or a turn of the century cottage that sold for over 1M on Lake St up in Outer-Richmond District... Now, up here roughly an hour north of the Golden Gate... people are using the area as a bedroom community for the Peninsula. Vacancy rate is nil, and rents are stupid high. All because of that Tech money.
Up here, that Tech money is retiring into purchasing land to convert you vineyards. and more people still are being driven away.
But thay say, the vines don't like to burn. ...So maybe I'll be safe from the fires for a little bit. Until the San Andreas snaps and swallows the western third of the state!

 

[panteragstk]

Oddly (or maybe not),but Texas is one of the fastest growing populations in the country. And, the largest group moving to TX is coming from CA!

It sucks! It's a big part of what has ruined Austin in the last 5 years, it just ain't what it used to be!

There is a saying, not sure where it started, "Don't California My Texas!"

I'm not even trying to be political about this, I'm just giving my observation at ground zero.

EDIT: We call the Cali transplants, "Cali-foreigners"

Same problem here buddy. At least most of them have congregated to a specific area of town. Happily quite far from where I am.

 

[slipperybidness]

Ha! Ya, I've heard about people moving down there. Not directly familiar with any. I would go north if I had my way. I think I'd be happy in some parts of Oregon. Maybe end up somewhere close to Lovin' and have subwoofer battles across the valley, perhaps.
If everything, the saddest part is also what helped make the Bay so great... the Tech industry both created and destroyed life here. I witnessed first-hand the insane bidding wars for apartments in The City (SF) where people were offering bribes on top of paying say 6mos rent down... or a turn of the century cottage that sold for over 1M on Lake St up in Outer-Richmond District... Now, up here roughly an hour north of the Golden Gate... people are using the area as a bedroom community for the Peninsula. Vacancy rate is nil, and rents are stupid high. All because of that Tech money.
Up here, that Tech money is retiring into purchasing land to convert you vineyards. and more people still are being driven away.
But thay say, the vines don't like to burn. ...So maybe I'll be safe from the fires for a little bit. Until the San Andreas snaps and swallows the western third of the state!

Austin / Central Tx has sometimes been called "Silicon Hills", as a reference to the similarity to Silicon Valley.

Central Tx is also the "Tx wine country".

Yeah, the housing market in CA is a big part of what is driving them to TX. They sell for a huge $ amount in CA, then get much more for the $ in TX. But, that influx has driven up the real estate market here. Austin affordability has become a hot button topic now. People that have lived in their house for 20 years can no longer afford to pay the property taxes. Like maybe in 10-15 years of paying taxes, it will equal the original purchase price of the house!

Again, I'm not trying to get into politics, but generally TX is a Republican/Conservative state, with Austin being the big exception where Liberals/Democrats have a foot-hold. That may have something to do with why Austin gets so many of the transplants.

 

[Russdawg1]

Haha Ryan I’m doing all well. I didn’t even know this thread existed.

PG&E is all over the place regarding cutting power. I’ve been downtown and there are stoplights that are on next to ones that have been cut followed by more functioning stoplights.

It’s funny because they cut everything but electricity during the fires in 2017.

 

[Irvrobinson]

All because of that Tech money.

Everyone hates someone else's money, unless that someone else is their customer.

 

[panteragstk]

Austin / Central Tx has sometimes been called "Silicon Hills", as a reference to the similarity to Silicon Valley.

Central Tx is also the "Tx wine country".

Yeah, the housing market in CA is a big part of what is driving them to TX. They sell for a huge $ amount in CA, then get much more for the $ in TX. But, that influx has driven up the real estate market here. Austin affordability has become a hot button topic now. People that have lived in their house for 20 years can no longer afford to pay the property taxes. Like maybe in 10-15 years of paying taxes, it will equal the original purchase price of the house!

Again, I'm not trying to get into politics, but generally TX is a Republican/Conservative state, with Austin being the big exception where Liberals/Democrats have a foot-hold. That may have something to do with why Austin gets so many of the transplants.

This also describes the DFW area. TONS of influx of business/people from CA. I met more people from other states than I did from TX. Was kind of odd.

 

[Irvrobinson]

Lots of people leave California because they get tired of the cost of living, the low standard of living, the traffic, and lately the failing progressive politics. I'm one of them.

https://www.businessinsider.com/the-top-10-states-people-are-moving-out-of-us-2019-5

Between CA, NY, and IL that's about 450,000 people moving to other states. I can understand the NY and IL outflows too. I'm afraid you folks in Texas could find yourselves in a situation like Oregon, where the big population centers lean left from the new-comers, while the less populated areas stay more to the right. Oregon is a mess for that reason.

 

[ryanosaur]

Everyone hates someone else's money, unless that someone else is their customer.

That money has been both good and bad... but that's the way of capitalism. I've seen it used well, and poorly (like the guy that bought property on a public beach and is trying to close the access point to that beach despite it being an easement on his property).
Anyway... Both good and bad. Good, revitalizing and rebuilding run down areas; bad, driving COL too high for the gas station attendant to live in the county where he/she works.
Hell, I made my living as a Private Chef, serving that tech money!