Governor offers views
on energy shortage, fire
By Christy Scott
The Alpine Sun
SAN DIEGO — “These fires are
terrible! Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said Monday in an interview
with The Alpine Sun. “It’s horrible to hear stories from people
who have lost everything — who have watched all of their
possessions go up in smoke.”
Of the Horse Fire, currently burning in the
Back Country, mainly in the Cleveland National Forest, he said,
“The people living in these areas need to pay attention and listen
to what the firefighters, the forest officials and the local
authorities are saying.”
He said the forest and fire authorities
were working hard and doing their jobs well.
“The experts are on the ground. The firefighters are there, doing their job and working to get the fires under control. We hope that within the next few days they continue to make great progress,” Schwarzenegger said after a briefing by fire officials. “The coordination of all the forces is extraordinary...There are many (fires) burning all across the state,”
The governor later said of the firefighters, “It's very heroic and it's really great work that they're doing. Fighting fires is a challenging and physically demanding profession — I appreciate the many risks they take and the sacrifices they make. There are thousands of Californians who owe them a great debt of gratitude.”
Schwarzenegger also said that lessons learned from the previous large fires such as the 2003 Cedar Fire were being applied in fighting the Horse Fire to prevent similar damages.
Schwarzenegger said that due in part to the efforts of the firefighters; the Horse Fire has not destroyed power lines or energy transmission lines, saving the area from an even more strained energy grid.
This prompted questions about the current Southern California energy crisis. Scorching heat pushed California and San Diego County’s electricity supply to the brink on Monday and threatened another round of blackouts as utility crews across the state struggled to restore power to tens of thousands of people left in the dark over the weekend. Authorities warned that the eighth day of the heat wave could drive demand for electricity to an all-time high.
Schwarzenegger pleaded Monday for heat-plagued Californians to avoid rolling electricity blackouts by conserving energy. He also ordered state agencies to cut power use by 25 percent, and he urged municipal governments and universities to do the same.
“Do everything that you can in order to help us through this crisis. It's very important,” Schwarzenegger said. “It doesn’t have to be a big problem. It’s just like your mom told you, ‘when you leave a room turn off the light.’ You can save money on your electricity bill and cut your energy use.”
The governor said that at the moment the state’s electrical grid has enough power to sustain use, but the rising temperatures and high energy use could change that quickly.
“Everyone needs to conserve energy,” the governor said. “Lots of Americans, and Californians, use a lot more energy than they really need. We’ve all become energy hogs.”
Statewide power consumption peaked at 50,269 megawatts yesterday – just shy of the 51,135 megawatts that had been forecast but above Friday's previous high mark of 49,036 megawatts.
Electricity consumption in San Diego County peaked at 4,470 megawatts at 2:11 p.m. on Monday, shy of the single-day record of 4,502 megawatts set three days earlier. San Diego Gas & Electric cut power to 45 companies in San Diego County as part of a program in which large electricity consumers agree to brownouts when power is in short supply in exchange for lower electricity rates.
The blistering heat has left thousands of San Diegans without electricity. Record-high temperatures stressed the power grid Saturday, leaving the state dangerously low on energy.
Around 4 p.m. on Monday, SDG&E said there were a total of 61 outages, affecting about 54,000 residents. A new all-time record for San Diego energy use was set at 2 p.m. The power outage spanned from Mission Valley to City Heights, San Marcos, Otay Mesa, and El Cajon.
“When air conditioners and computers don't work because the electricity is out, Californians get very, very angry,” the governor said. “And they look for people to blame.”
Ironically, Schwarzenegger bumped Gov. Gray Davis from office in a 2003 gubernatorial recall election, partially due to Davis' handling of a power crisis that had caused outages.
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger kicked off a two-day bus tour of Southern California on Tuesday morning. While the governor's “Protecting the California Dream” tour is mainly a campaign meet-and-greet opportunity he has faced intense questions from residents and reporters regarding immigration, the energy crisis, and the fires that are currently burning throughout the state.
Schwarzenegger’s opponent in the November election, Phil Angelides criticized the governor for campaigning during a time when some Californians are without electricity and hot weather threatens more blackouts.
“Californians are without power and he should be fixing the state's electricity problems, rather than campaigning,” said Angelides spokesman Nick Papas.
“I’m looking forward to visiting with Southern Californian’s to talk to them about protecting the California dream and about the issues that concern them and their communities,” Schwarzenegger said prior to beginning the tour. “I want to go out and meet real people and answer their questions.”
Schwarzenegger’s two-day campaign tour will take him, and his bright green touring buses, from San Diego to the Inland Empire and then to Orange County.
 E-mail
the Editor
|
|
