Generators Still Needed in California Fire Fight

SHARE THIS ARTICLE

While the fires in California come increasingly under control of the first response teams throughout the region, one resource is still lacking at area tower sites: back-up generators. KRON-TV reports there’s a shortage of them and emergency personnel have requested an additional 500 generators to stay connected. 

State 911 Manager, Budge Currer, stated, “The longer the power is out, the more sites are impacted, the need for generators increases, and then the generator needs begin to compete with communications, like water and sewer, a school, or a grocery store.” 

A generator task force has been set up by the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services to address the current shortage. Discussions are already in the works to make it a legal requirement for cell phone companies operating in California to maintain their own back-up systems. 

California has been facing statewide power outages and blackouts as PG&E has attempted to manage power consumption. When an area is subject to a blackout, the demand on the back-up generators increased dramatically, according to KRON-TV. “There are limitations on how long those generators can run on this temporary mode, and more importantly than that, there’s physical limitations on those generators to run two weeks straight with no maintenance,” Currier explained.  

November 1, 2019

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.