California Gov. Gavin Newsom addresses close to 30 major wildfires raging across the state due to an aggressive heatwave that has swept most of the West Coast in recent weeks.
Newsom said there have been 10,849 lightning strikes in the last 72 hours across the state adding there have been 6,754 fires in the state since the beginning this year.
Newsom declared a statewide emergency Tuesday to help ensure the availability of vital resources to combat fires burning across the state, which have been exacerbated by the effects of a triple-digit heatwave and sustained high winds, his office announced.
He said there 367 active fires across the state and 23 major wildfires burning across the state after record high hot temperatures have made Californians try to conserve energy including the Apple Fire, Lake Fire, Ranch 2 Fire. He added other fires like the CZU August Lightning Complex, the LNU Lightning Complex, the Carmel Fire and Jones Fire are not as contained currently.
He said they were able to increase the budget by $85.6 million for CalFire. Newsom said the state has requested 375 engines and support to come from other states including Arizona, Nevada and Texas.
Newsom said the blackouts were prevented Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. Newsom said the Flex Alert will take place from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. today.
On Tuesday, California's Independent System Operator lifted the emergency status just before 8 p.m. meaning Californians conserved enough energy to avoid rolling blackouts for another day. On Tuesday, officials were warning to shut off extra lights to conserve energy. On Monday some 3.3 million households in the state were expected to lose power.
Earlier this week, Newsom was irate over the rolling blackouts from the weekend and vowed to do better and figure out a solution. On Wednesday he said an investigation is happening into what happened.
"Again try to do your best to avoid using your dishwasher, your drier, your washing machine major appliances during the hour of 9 and 10 p.m..." Newsom said. "It would certainly accommodate our efforts to get through what we think is the last challenging night as it relates to this energy use."
The California Independent System Operator also gave three actions people can do to conserve energy:
Set your thermostat to 78° or higher between 3 and 10 P.M.
Refrain from major appliance use between 3 and 10 P.M.