Flex Alert Friday As Stifling Heat Envelops SoCal
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LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) – Sweltering temperatures across Southern California Friday prompted the manager of the state's electricity grid to issue another Flex Alert, urging residents to conserve energy to avoid outages.
The California Independent System Operator issued a statewide Flex Alert that will be in effect from 1 p.m. to 10 p.m. Friday, calling for voluntary electricity conservation.
"Consumers are urged to conserve electricity especially during the late afternoon when air conditioners typically are at peak use," according to Cal- ISO, which also issued a Flex-Alert Tuesday.
Los Angeles Department of Water and Power officials said demand on the utility's electrical grid reached a record level Thursday, hitting 6,502 megawatts as temperatures climbed into the high 90s and 100s, prompting utility officials to encourage residents to conserve power as much as possible. The previous peak demand of 6,396 megawatts was set on Sept. 16, 2014.
Department of Water and Power crews were working Friday morning to restore power to more than 1,900 customers in the Los Feliz area and more than 700 customers in Reseda, with hundreds more affected in their service area.
Thousands of homes across the San Fernando Valley, South Los Angeles and other parts of L.A. County were without power Tuesday through Thursday after triple-digit temperatures prompted high demand that overloaded power equipment.
Excessive heat warnings will remain in force until 10 p.m. Saturday in the San Fernando, Santa Clarita, San Gabriel and Antelope valleys, the San Gabriel and Santa Monica mountains at lower elevations, what NWS forecasters call the coast, which includes beach cities, metropolitan L.A and the Hollywood Hills.
An excessive heat warning also will be in effect in Inland Orange County Friday. A less serious heat advisory will be in force at the same time in the county's coastal communities.
Highs of 100 and above are expected Friday in Burbank, Downtown L.A., Lancaster, Long Beach, Palmdale Pasadena, San Gabriel, Saugus and Woodland Hills. A cooling trend will get underway Saturday, but the only areas that will slip below 100 are Downtown L.A., Long Beach, San Gabriel.
The "dangerously high temperatures" that will prevail in the Southland at least for the next two days result from strong high pressure and weak onshore flow, according to an NWS statement.
As has been the case since Saturday, the hottest areas will be the mountains and valleys of L.A. County, with temperature highs in those areas ranging up to 112 degrees.
In Orange County, triple-digit temperatures are forecast Friday in Anaheim, Fullerton, Mission Viejo and Yorba Linda, and Fullerton and Yorba Linda are forecast to hit 100 again Saturday.
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