Around one million residents across California will be affected as the state power authorities plan to cut off the power supply to avoid more destruction. 

Wildfire
(Photo : Reutersconnect)
Los Angeles County firefighters keep watch on the Bobcat Fire as it burns through the night in Juniper Hills, California, U.S.

The California power authorities announced that they are now planning to cut off power supplies across 38 counties in the state. This is as part of their response in a forecast to a powerful wind and as the extreme fire weather threatens the region again. 

The Pacific Gas and Electric spokeswoman Lynsey Paulo said that they are seeing a dangerous combination of factors like high winds, extremely low humidity, record dry fuels on the ground, and extreme to severe drought in many areas that would trigger a wildfire. 

According to a published article in Fox News, they have to cut off power or energy supply to avoid the same problem that occurred in 2018. It can be recalled that the damaged power equipment led to the destruction of much of the town of Paradise and claimed the lives of 85 persons. 

It is expected that the power cut off will begin on early Sunday morning and may end until Tuesday. This falls under the Red Flag Warning from the National Weather Service. This means that the conditions will pose an increased risk of damage to electrical systems. 

However, cutting off power in a couple of days will affect business in the affected areas. Most especially those that are heavily impacted by the global pandemic and due to the coronavirus-related restrictions. Most of the businesses were shut down to avoid virus contagion. 

Meanwhile, hardware stores saw an increase in their sales last year as customers were looking for generators, batteries, and flashlights. Big stores and hardware remained open to serve the people but smaller businesses have shut down during the power cut off last year. 

Additionally, supermarkets and grocery stores also saw an increase in sales in water, toilet paper, and food. This happened last year as Californians stocked up basic necessities when PG&E also announced a power outage due to wildfire. 

It is also expected this time that millions of individuals will be coming to the different hardware and grocery stores to buy their much-needed necessities. However, the supplies may not be enough because the pandemic has strained the suppliers for months. 

It is also important to note that included in the power outages are parts of Sacramento Valley, the northern and central Sierra Nevada, the Santa Cruz mountains, and most of the San Francisco Bay Area. The Weather Service has already said that the conditions could be the same as what happened in California's wine country in 2017 and last year's Kincade Fire.

Scott Strenfel, PG&E's chief meteorologist, also confirmed that the current conditions are extremely dangerous. He said, "We're seeing ... extremely high winds, extremely low humidity, extremely dry fuels due to the hottest average temperatures over the last six months, according to records that go back 126 years, and extreme drought across the territory given lack of rainfall."

California is facing two problems this year. These are the global pandemic and the forest wildfires which have affected thousands of acres. This is also a record-breaking wildfire season in the state.  

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