California heat wave: here's how you can stay safe, prevent power outages and fires
SAN FRANCISCO - The heat is on in the Bay Area and a cool down is not likely for a couple of days.
It's one of those summer like days where exercising early in the morning is your best bet at staying safe.
"We started earlier because of the heat and we should’ve started maybe a little more earlier," says Chris Martin Meyer of San Ramon.
With water handy, Meyer took to the trails at Las Trampas park. The hiker wasn't alone in hitting the trails before it gets too hot.
"I’m out much earlier than I would be because of the heat, absolutely," said Tony Newey of Walnut Creek who was out at Heather Farms at 6:30 Thursday morning to miss the extreme heat.
It's yet another hot day in the Bay Area, Wednesday's high temperatures kicking off a stretch of hot days with Thursday predicted to be the hottest.
On hot days like this it is suggested to find somewhere cool to relax, because if you're not careful you could get sick.
Emergency physicians say they see it often when temps are on the rise: heat stroke. They say heat stroke, more severe than heat exhaustion, will make someone very sick, weak, and unable to walk.
"If they feel they're getting illness related to too much heat, we'd rather they come in early and have it be a false alarm because that's when we have the opportunity to treat," said Dr. Ronn Berrol, Emergency Director of Summit/Alta Bates.
While home is often a cool place to duck out from the sun, with AC handy, PG&E is asking Bay Area residents to follow the "Flex Alert."
"It’s essentially a call for action for all Californians to conserve energy between the hours of 5 and 10pm," said Tamar Sarkissian, PG&E Spokesperson.
On Wednesday, Governor Newsom said that grid strength is being monitored. But PG&E said a heat outage could be possible.
"With the temperatures so high over night there might not be an opportunity for equipment to cool down over night and that’s when you sometimes see outages," said Sarkissian.
There is also a very high risk of fire today. So officials are asking you to camp responsibility if you do end up heading out on Thursday, and if you can, reduce your drive time.
PG&E said they don't expect rolling black outs. Cal ISO tweeted Thursday afternoon that the power grid remains stable, therefore they don't anticipate any rotating power outages.
But, if equipment gets to hot a heat outage could happen. So, keep your flash lights charged and handy. If you stumble on a down power line, stay away, call 911 and PG&E.