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Kincade Fire effort focuses on stopping spread across Highway 101
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Here's when PG&E plans to restore power, based on location
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Shut-offs continue for over 900,000 PG&E customers
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Maps: Kincade Fire continues to burn in Sonoma County
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Fires burning near Carquinez Bridge shut down I-80
Arizona for me when (and if) I finally retire. That way I can watch the Brewers during spring training.Joe Guy wrote:Whatever you do, don't move to California! At least not today.
Tesla cuts price of solar and Powerwall installations for people affected by wildfires
Elon Musk announced that Tesla is cutting the price of its solar and Powerwall installations for people affected by wildfires in California.
California has seen some difficult wildfire seasons over the last few years and this year is no different.
Several wildfires are raging in the state and it is not only damaging a lot of forests and properties, but they are also affecting power in many regions.
Earlier this month, we reported how PG&E, the largest electric utility in Northern California, started cutting power for safety reasons.
Tesla activated its ‘Storm Watch’ feature to help its Powerwall owners keep the lights on during the power outages.
Now Elon Musk says that Tesla is focusing installations for people affected by the California wildfires:The CEO even said that they are offering $1,000 discounts to them:“Apologies to those waiting for Solar/Powerwall outside California, as we are prioritizing those affected by wildfires.”While $1,000 might not sound like much for a system that can cost tens of thousands, Musk said that it’s a lot considering their profit margins on the product:Elon Musk
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@elonmusk
If you’re directly affected by wildfire power outages, Tesla is reducing Solar+Powerwall prices by $1000 as of today
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1:09 PM - Oct 28, 2019Tesla has been revamping its solar business and last quarter, it saw growth for the first time in a long time.“We don’t make much money on this product, so $1000 actually means a lot.”
More recently, Tesla launched a new solar rental service under which homeowners can get a solar panel system for just $50 per month.
They have also launched a new commercial solar online ordering platform.
The company has been making its pricing simpler, more transparent, and they have been pushing the energy products more actively.
Musk has especially been talking about the capacity to avoid power outages by combining solar power with Powerwall battery packs.
The CEO says that Tesla Energy is becoming a distributed global utility and it could outgrow its automotive business.
More on Musk's "pedo guy." I feel a large pre-trial $ettlement is in the works.Big RR wrote:And the people better take what he offers, lest he take to calling them child molesters in the press if they do not.
That Musk is one strange guy.
Historic 'Extreme Red Flag Warning' for Southern California as Wildfire Crisis Escalates
The National Weather Service (NWS) in Los Angeles has issued a historic fire warning to area residents as conditions ramp up to produce a severe threat.
For the first time, the NWS has called an extreme red flag warning as winds, temperatures and humidity create an environment ripe for danger.
One of the biggest concerns is hurricane-force winds. The weather service says gusts could reach 80 miles an hour through Thursday night in one the strongest wind events there in years.
Capt. Adam Mitchell with the California Dept. of Forest and Fire Protection said the lack of rain is not helping. "We're at the time of year when we haven't seen any moisture in our fuel beds for an extended period of time. The fuels are critically dry. They are receptive to new fires as well as fire spread."
New dashcam footage shows the moment that the Getty Fire started near Los Angeles. Right off the 405 freeway, high winds broke off a tree branch and it landed on power lines, igniting nearby brush.
More than 9,000 people in southern California are still under evacuation orders.
Some local churches are sending people to neighborhood evacuation centers to help and provide encouragement.
Rev. Drew Sams of Bel Air Church told CBN News that some of their members have had to evacuate, leaving their homes in 15 minutes in some cases.
Others are seeking out evacuation centers in order to minister to others.
"There are evacuation centers all over Los Angeles," said Sams. "It's so wonderful, our church family has been showing up and simply being present with those that they've never met before. They're bringing water. They're bringing their presence and they're bringing encouragement."
In northern California, the state's largest utility has begun its third round of sweeping blackouts, hoping to prevent more fires from starting.
Currently 1.5 million people are without power there and in southern California, the local utility may cut power to more than half a million.
Forecasters say the worst fire danger from the winds is expected Wednesday and Thursday with conditions expected to ease after that.
:ttps://www.cnn.com/2019/10/30/us/california-ea ... index.htmlFire crews, air drops and a herd of goats help save Reagan Presidential Library from wildfire
(CNN)A herd of ravenous goats played a role in saving the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library after a fresh wildfire erupted in the city of Simi Valley in Southern California, forcing officials to order evacuations of nearby homes.
In addition the firefighters and aircraft crews that responded, a hungry herd of as many as 500 goats had helped create a firebreak in the brush that surrounds the hilltop complex, officials said. The goats ate up vegetation that would have fueled the fire.
"One of the firefighters mentioned that they do believe the goats' fire line helped them fight this fire," library spokeswoman Melissa Giller said. "They just proved today how useful they really are."
Named the Easy Fire, the blaze -- one of several California wildfires burning in dry and windy conditions -- began Wednesday morning in the hills near Simi Valley and has already burned 1,300 acres, according to the Ventura County Fire Department. It threatened 6,500 homes and forced school closures.
Firefighting aircraft were dropping liquid in the area near the library in a bid the stop the fire, CNN's Bill Weir reported from the scene.
"Non-stop water drops is probably what really saved us," Giller said. "We are just grateful."
Other crews assaulted the fast-moving flames from the ground.
"It's a whole lot of fire trucks, a whole lot of heroes out here protecting President Reagan's library," John Heubusch, the library's executive director, told CNN affiliate KTLA. "They're doing a heroic job."
Flames surrounded the 1,300-acre complex at one point. Heubusch said a fire had never come so close to the presidential library.
