We’re also keeping our eye on a major weather story in the Pacific Northwest– where a historic heatwave has expanded to include several states.

There are new fears tonight about a lava fire burning in Northern California…which has forced thousands to evacuate.

Officials are concerned that the dangerous heat could prompt more fires.
In Oregon, 500 people have gone to emergency rooms and urgent care centers for heat-related illnesses.

Meanwhile, in Washington state–unprecedented temperatures are causing roads to buckle and prompting rolling blackouts across the state.

Bob, as these temperatures climb well into the triple digits, why are measures like forced blackouts so important?

Teresa, this power is budgeted for the season before this one.

Therefore, when these unexpected heat waves arise, we begin to see sometimes rolling brownouts for places as far south as Nevada that are generally accustomed to the heat but share the same power grid as Oregon’s Willamette Valley Power.

And I know this because I lived out there for many years. An interesting sidebar, Hoover Dam only powers 4% of Southern Nevada, and the rest is distributed to Southern California.
Teresa, back to you.