Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Black to Not



Another day of confusion, but at least here, with a happy ending.

Our power was supposed to go off again at 4 a.m., in a black to black blackout.  It didn't.  Around 8 a.m. people started noticing but there was no official word on it.  An argument broke out among relevant organizations because one of them said the outage had been postponed to 9 p.m., if it was going to happen at all.  Other organizations called them rumor mongers, or the social media equivalent.

But hours later that became the semi-official word.  Then PG&E said the blackout would start at 7 p.m.  It was starting to make less and less sense, since the winds were supposed to diminish.  Humboldt's Emergency Management got snippy in their announcement, complaining of PG&E's unhelpfulness.   Among other things, it turns out that the utility has a different definition of "Humboldt" than the rest of us.  To them it is a district that includes parts of H County and parts of others.  But for awhile they said northern Humboldt County would lose power at 7 p., and they continued to say that Southern Humboldt had lost power at 7 a.m. Which they hadn't.

Then around 5 p.m., PG&E announced it was calling the whole thing off.  Nobody who had power was going to lose it, because the wind velocity was below that deemed dangerous.  Also the short and long range forecasts suggest a respite from high winds and hence intentional blackouts.

I know that this narrative of the latest episode of Humboldt County and PG&E makes for less than timeless reading.  However, this is a record of what happened, commensurate with how we experienced it.  For example, I spent a lot of time today frantically trying to prioritize and get things done before they became massively inconvenient in the dark, not to mention the cold.  Well, it's still cold outside, but we've got light and heat inside after all.  As an experience, I'd suggest that the mental effort and manipulation of anxiety and adrenalin prompted not only by the blackouts themselves but all the uncertainty and crazy turns of information made it all especially exhausting.

Perhaps that will leave an impression, and these communities will take seriously the fragility of the grid and the associated problems of the climate crisis, or more precisely now, the climate emergency.

Meanwhile, other parts of the state suffered real blackouts, and fires raged.  People outside this massive and varied state tend to lump it all together, or distinguish only Los Angeles (southern CA) from San Francisco (northern CA), in conjunction with their respective cliches.  But there are many differences--and probably more micro-climates than any other state.  That isn't stopping the nonsense being written about what all this means, at least in terms of devising responses.  They will need to be different, according to local circumstances.

It's true however that we have in common that it's pretty much all driven by the climate emergency. The climate emergency is becoming the default reality.  That doesn't make it less of an emergency.  It makes it more of one.

Monday, October 28, 2019

Black to Black

The power is back on--temporarily. It came on here around 2:30 p., and is scheduled to go off again around 4 a.m.
Black to black blackouts.

 Winds are due to pick up again to the east and south around 6 a.m. This next "weather event" has winds predicted in a larger area, but the winds and gusts themselves are predicted to be less intense that yesterday's.  But they are not expected to diminish until Wednesday, so power will likely be off even longer.

Of course things are much worse in areas with fire and smoke.  The Sonoma fire has expanded; some 200,000 people evacuated.  LA has its own horrific fast moving fires, which I learned about from the BBC radio news.  Otherwise only people with Internet access through their smartphones are allowed to see the local news, and the Lost Coast empire still doesn't have the decency to schedule regular updates on its radio station.  Would it kill you to pick a time and summarize the relevant information at that time, after letting everyone know what that time is?  A buzz kill maybe.

So while we have a few hours to recharge stuff, get the fridge cold and the house warm, a problem that wasn't so pressing the last time is the night time temperatures.  There was frost this morning, and it's getting down near freezing for the next few nights.  Moving around in darkness or semi-darkness, holding a flashlight at all times, it gets old quick.  It gets to feel a bit like insanity.

The forecast after Wednesday is better, though, at least through the weekend.  But as we're beginning to realize, this can keep happening until the rains start, or until the powers that be find a more effective way of limiting fire dangers.  Because I'm seeing some doubts expressed that this is even working.

But as of today we have a battery backup which will help with some things, maybe even an electric blanket.  The planes are flying so they say, so I'm still scheduled to take off Wednesday morning.   I may post from PA if I actually get there. I got back on here to find that the automated post didn't work, possibly because the power loss affected this computer's clock.  So there may or may not be those Monday poems you're waiting for.  Stay tuned.

Poetry Monday: The Waking

BK photo
THE WAKING

I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.
I feel my fate in what I cannot fear.
I learn by going where I have to go.

We think by feeling. What is there to know?
I hear my being dance from ear to ear.
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.

Of those so close beside me, which are you?
God bless the Ground! I shall walk softly there,
And learn by going where I have to go.

Light takes the Tree; but who can tell me how?
The lowly worm climbs up the winding stair;
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.

Great nature has another thing to do
To you and me; so take the lively air,
And lovely, learn by going where to go.

This shaking keeps me steady. I should know.
What falls away is always. And is near.
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.
I learn by going where I have to go.

Theodore Roethke