Part 113: The Great Heat Wave of Los Angeles - Human Desperation and Climate Catastrophe
September 20, 2024
By Zachary Ellison, Independent Journalist
The heat dome descended on the Los Angeles Basin with unnerving certainty. For five solid days, temperatures rose above 100 degrees across the region before the forecast showed two days of cooling that would inevitably lead to high winds. For much of the summer, I had roamed the mountains, including in prior heat waves in August and July, but this one was far worse because the record-setting temperatures would spell an extreme temperature fluctuation. Already, the area had seen a series of smaller fires, a number of which the authorities had succeeded in rapidly extinguishing, a few after a good burn. The pressure was on to balance recreational access, fire prevention, and policing, including towards the unhoused population that so often is the first to have the finger pointed at them as the source of such incendiary conflagrations, even when it’s not true to the chagrin of advocates.
Even the New York Times reported on the power outages that afflicted such an esteemed venue as the Hollywood Bowl. The grid was becoming strained. The Southern California Edison outage map showed losses of power across the region, restored as quickly as possible by crews. The County of Los Angeles issued instructions on how to make your own air conditioner: “Place a pan of ice between you and a box fan to cool the air down.” The advice wasn’t unsound, but for those on the streets who didn’t have electricity, the advice didn’t apply. Cooling centers were opened, and activists were able to push the City of Los Angeles at least to stop sweeping people, but not more broadly across the County. Then the fires started, first in neighboring San Bernardino, then in the forest above Glendora, and to the south in sprawling Orange County. The great heat wave had brought predictable disaster.
Link: https://zacharyellison.substack.com/p/part-113-the-great-heat-wave-of-los
= new reply since forum marked as read
