2.2 Million Acres Burned in California this Year as Worst Fire Months of the Season Sets In

We’re just a week and a day into the month of September– one of the worst fire months of fire season, in addition to October. As the most destructive fire months set in, sadly, our state has had already 2.2 million acres burned, making our outlook here in California pretty grim.

Power outages are now in full swing in various parts of California as local state utility companies grapple to keep up with demand, putting massive pressure on our utility grid. Utility companies are asking customers to limit their usage, but it’s not easy during heatwaves for many to limit air-conditioning usage, for example. According to a CalFire report, the 2.2 million acres burned are from 25 different wildfires that were ignited by mostly lightening strikes. For reference, In 2018, 1.89 million acres burned, and in 2019, 118,000 acres burned in our state. This year is breaking records, and the fire season isn’t even over.

“Historic is a term we seemingly often use here in the state of California, but these numbers bear fruit to that assertion, that this is historic,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a news briefing today. “This is the largest fire season we’ve had in terms of total acreage.”

The wildfires make matters worse for our state, as people typically want to crank up their air conditioning to escape from the extreme heat and smoke outside, putting additional pressure on the grid. Perhaps the best way Californians can do their part is to add solar and storage to their homes. Thanks to California’s SGIP rebates, customers who live in high fire zones, amongst other qualifiers can get storage for little to no cost.

Relentless Heat Threatens California's Grid, Setting Off Rolling Blackouts

California is currently experiencing its worst heat wave in years– breaking previous temperature records across the state. In Death Valley on Sunday, the area reached 130 degrees Fahrenheit, Santa Rosa reached 103 degrees, while Santa Cruz shot to 107 degrees. Other cities across the state shattered previous temperature records, straining the state’s power grid, ultimately forcing power shut offs.

The strain on California’s grid is due to the high demand for resident’s need for air conditioning to escape the extreme temperatures. The California Independent System Operator or CAISO is the operator for a majority of the state’s power grid, and oversees the biggest electricity providers like PG&E, San Diego Gas & Electric and Southern California Edison. On Sunday, CAISO issued a statewide Flex Alert, asking for voluntary electricity conservation to residents through Wednesday, August 19th, to help with the strain on the grid– the organization also informed consumers that they should plan for more potential outages.

Luckily for California residents, batteries or storage help residential customers to keep their lights on during forced power shut offs by taking the strain off the grid, and allowing for the resident to be reliant on the storage installed in their homes when needed. The state’s Self-Generation Incentive Program or SGIP program is currently in full swing to attract homeowners to install their own batteries by providing large rebates (making some transactions almost free-of-cost) in efforts to help residents become more energy independent, and also help take strain off the grid, especially during heat waves or high fire season when demand for more energy use and the possibility of power shut offs are at an all time high.