SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Gov. Gavin Newsom declared an emergency Tuesday over wildfires burning throughout California as the state's power grid operator pleaded for continued conservation to avoid rolling blackouts.
The grid operator praised residents and businesses for astonishing conservation efforts that kept the power on Monday night. The state is in a days-long heatwave that has stressed the electrical system and resulted in rolling blackouts over two nights last weekend.
Outages, excessive heat, wildfire and the pandemic have people on edge.
Evacuations were in effect or growing in several Northern California communities because of growing fires. Newsom demanded an investigation into two smaller weekend blackouts.
