A plane crash into high-voltage transmission lines stressed California's power grid Tuesday as inland areas sizzled in a summer heat wave that raised public health and fire worries. The crash into the San Diego-area electrical lines and an apparently unrelated loss of 1,900 megawatts of generation from several Southern California power plants led operators of the state's power grid to call for statewide conservation into the evening hours. The California Independent System Operator said some of the off-line power plants resumed operation in the afternoon and would meet demand through the Fourth of July.
Officials remained concerned about supplies for Thursday, which is expected to be the hottest day of the week - it's also when workers back from the holiday will resume cooling office buildings. Two people aboard the private plane were killed when it hit the power lines after departing a Carlsbad airport at 6 a.m.
, and some 1,700 homes and businesses in the area lost power. Temperatures were in the upper 90s and triple digits in the Central Valley and across the inland valleys and deserts of Southern California. Needles, on the Colorado River, fried at 115.
"Red flag" warnings for fire danger were posted in many mountain and foothill areas of Southern California, the National Weather Service said. A Kern County fire that destroyed 13 homes and 18 outbuildings was contained Tuesday and crews were close to ringing a smaller fire near Santa Barbara. Early Tuesday, an arsonist set seven fires in ranchland along a road, one of which briefly threatened a subdivision of up to 40 homes, said Chris Cagle of the Kern County Fire Department.
burned about 40 acres of land in total but were quickly doused without building damage or injuries, Cagle said. Meanwhile, a 482-acre wildfire in Los Padres National Forest 7 miles northwest of Santa Barbara was 98 percent contained and fire crews were being released. Arnold Schwarzenegger ordered the opening of state cooling centers in 13 counties, and four senior centers in the San Fernando Valley have opened to provide air-conditioned relief to the elderly.
"Sometimes I feel like if the bus doesn't come, I'm going to melt," said Mercedes Jenkins, 24, as she waited for her ride to work in Monterey Park. "I look at the people in cars with their windows rolled up. I wish it was me.
" A plane crash into high-voltage transmission lines stressed California's power grid Tuesday as inland areas sizzled in a summer heat wave that raised public health and fire worries.
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