California Flex Alert to begin hour earlier amid record heat - Los Angeles Times
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California

Statewide power outages not anticipated Wednesday night, officials say

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The thermometer at Calvary Church in Woodland Hills registers 116 degrees Fahrenheit.  (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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The Holser Fire burns through the night just east of Lake Piru, where actress Naya Rivera died in mid-July.  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Lifeguard Michael Alfaro, wearing protective gear, works with 5-year-old Kaila Holliday during a swim lesson at Marie Kerr Pool in Palmdale.  (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
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After a day at the beach, Sebastian Grand, 11, left, Leo Grand, 13, and Constantin Condraschi, 12, of Orange County have pizza at a Slice of New York Pizza in Seal Beach.   (Josie Norris / Los Angeles Times)
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L.A. Rams rookie outside linebacker Terrell Lewis towels away sweat as temperatures soar at the Rams training facility in Thousand Oaks.  (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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Jose Vasquez, left, and Jordan Taylor play a pickup basketball game at Sgt. Steve Owen Memorial Park in Lancaster.  (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
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Benjamin Cole II shows son Barreth Cole, 5, a routine while joining members of Barry’s Bootcamp as they conduct a workout session at the Watts Empowerment Center.  (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
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Jon Galapago takes a break from the heat in a hammock during a day of fishing at Lake Evans in Riverside.  (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Watts residents pick out clothing during the Children Mending Hearts weekly food and clothing giveaway at the Watts Empowerment Center.  (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
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The Original Snake Doctor, left, and Louis Benton play a game of chess in Leimert Park.  (Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times)
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Victor Eddie Chavez, 9, and Evangeline Benitez, 3, run through a fountain’s spouts at Hollywood & Highland.   (Josie Norris / Los Angeles Times)
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Matthew Giron, 8, frolics with friends and family near a drainage pipe along the San Gabriel River.   (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)
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A funnel appears in a thick plume of smoke from the Loyalton fire in Lassen County, Calif., on Aug. 15.  (Katelynn & Jordan Hewlett via Associated Press)
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Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge on Aug. 16. Numerous lightning strikes sparked brush fires throughout the region.  (Noah Berger / Associated Press
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Firefighters prepare to defend a home as flames from the River fire approach in Salinas on Aug. 17.  (Noah Berger / Associated Press)
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A chimney stands amid the rubble of a home destroyed in the River fire.  (Noah Berger / Associated Press )
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Don and Sally Joaquin watch for lightning strikes on Aug. 16 in unincorporated Contra Costa County.  (Noah Berger / Associated Press)
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Friends and family rollick in a drainage pipe along the San Gabriel River.  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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People head to the beach in Venice amid the heat.  (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
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Liz Saul reads a novel on her iPad in the comfort of an air mattress in Venice.  (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
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Beachgoers create a forest of umbrellas on the beach at Santa Monica.  (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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Windsurfers sail off Cabrillo Beach in San Pedro.  (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)
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People escape the heat at Cabrillo Beach in San Pedro.  (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)
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An employee of a hot dog stand works inside the eatery along the boardwalk in Santa Monica.  (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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Jacob Debreceni, 16, with friends Ismael Fuentes, left, and Kevin Lemus, cools off with the help of a backyard waterslide in Mira Loma, Calif.  (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Tropical moisture moving onshore northwest of Santa Barbara on Aug. 15 brought lightning strikes but also rainbows.  (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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A cool breeze propels windsurfers across the shimmering waters off Cabrillo Beach in San Pedro.  (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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A paddle boarder chooses a rental board at Bayshore Beach in Long Beach.   (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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DeAndre Michaels dips his toes in a fountain in Grand Park in downtown Los Angeles.   (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
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At the Santa Ana River in Jurupa Valley, Mike Garcia of Norco and his children Jose, 7, and Monica, 10, employ multiple stay-cool techniques.   (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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The Telles family of the San Fernando Valley enjoys the water of the Santa Ana River in Jurupa Valley.   (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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The scene at Cabrillo Beach in San Pedro on Aug. 14, where a cooling breeze kept the shore comfortable.   (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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At Woodley Park in Van Nuys, Blanca Celaya of Winnetka and her family enjoy the shade. She holds her 3-month-old son, Jason Celaya. Beyond are her daughter Celia Barinese and husband, Jaime Paiz.  (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
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Pedestrians pass a Black Lives Matter mural in Hollywood.
  (Josie Norris / Los Angeles Times)
By Leila Miller
 and Colleen Shalby
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Officials with the California Independent System Operator announced that rotating power outages are not expected Wednesday night, crediting imported energy and wind production.

With California in the grip of one of its worst heat waves in years, power officials on had issued another statewide call Wednesday for the voluntary conservation of electricity and moved up the starting time by one hour in an effort to avoid rolling blackouts.

The California ISO, which runs the electric grid for most of the state, had asked residents to conserve energy from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. by setting air conditioning thermostats to 78 degrees or above, avoiding using fans and large appliances, turning off unnecessary lights, unplugging unused devices and closing all blinds and drapes.

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The flex alert, originally set to begin at 3 p.m., was moved up Wednesday morning.

On Tuesday evening, the ISO called off power outages that had been anticipated statewide, crediting conservation efforts by consumers for the second day in a row with averting rolling blackouts that were implemented Friday and Saturday nights.

Though statewide blackouts were avoided, heat-related equipment issues left thousands without power in Los Angeles. On Wednesday, the L.A. Department of Water and Power was again faced with multiple outages across the city “due to strain on the system because of high demand and high temperatures,†the utility said on Twitter.

A firefighter holds a hose amid the Carmel Fire near Carmel Valley, Aug. 18, 2020.

California

Smoke from wildfires chokes Bay Area as ozone smog threatens Southern California

Particulate pollution is rife in the San Francisco Bay Area following numerous lightning-sparked fires. Intense heat is triggering ozone smog alerts elsewhere.

In a statement, the ISO said that, in addition to consumer conservation efforts, the grid had benefited from some imported energy and resources from wind plants.

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“Californians made tonight a success,†said ISO President Steve Berberich. “Everyone pulled together and responded to our warning with action to avoid any interruption in electricity supplies.â€

On Monday, officials had warned of blackouts affecting as many as 3 million people, but officials ended up canceling that warning, saying improved weather conditions and conservation efforts reduced demand on the power grid.

Two men play chess in Leimert Park while enduring a heat wave sweeping through the Southland.
The Original Snake Doctor, left, and Louis Benton play chess in Leimert Park while enduring the Southland heat wave.
(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
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The heat wave is expected to continue through Thursday. On Tuesday, temperature records for the date fell across Southern California, including in Long Beach (100 degrees), Burbank (109), UCLA (97), Anaheim (105), Santa Ana (106) and Woodland Hills (112).

The heat is also making life more difficult for firefighters, who are battling big blazes across the state, including near Lake Piru in Ventura County and in the Mojave National Preserve, where the Dome fire has burned more than 43,000 acres and destroyed swaths of Joshua trees.

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Leila Miller

Leila Miller is a former foreign correspondent for the Los Angeles Times based in Mexico City. She joined the newsroom in 2018, where she spent several years covering criminal justice, including the Luz del Mundo sex abuse case, and was part of the team that was a 2020 Pulitzer Prize finalist for its coverage of the Conception boat fire off the Channel Islands. She moved to Mexico in 2021 and was a 2023 Livingston finalist for an investigation on how a centuries-old forensic test has been sending mothers in Latin America to prison for killing their newborns. Born in Argentina but raised in Los Angeles, Miller is a graduate of Oberlin College and Columbia University’s School of Journalism.

Colleen Shalby

Colleen Shalby is a reporter for the Los Angeles Times. She has covered education, the pandemic, the vaccine rollout and breaking news throughout California. She was part of the team that was a 2020 Pulitzer Prize finalist for coverage of a dive-boat fire off the Santa Barbara coast. Shalby grew up in Southern California and graduated from George Washington University. She previously worked for PBS NewsHour and joined The Times in 2015.

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