Cooling centers prepare for possible outages in Riverside amid heat wave

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (KABC) — With California’s electric grid pushed to the max again on Tuesday, the threat of rolling blackouts looms. Some people who don’t have access to air conditioning are heading off to cooling centers in Riverside where preparations are being made just in case the power does go out.

“In the event of a blackout some of our sites have backup generators, and they are willing to activate those for the coolness of those rooms,” said Olga Sanchez with Riverside County Community Action Partnership.

At the Janet Goeske Senior Center, they’re not equipped with a backup generator. However, buses are on standby should people need to be moved to a cooling center where the power is still on.

At a press briefing Tuesday afternoon, the California ISO said yesterday people started conserving power after 3 p.m. and that helped prevent blackouts.

But when you look at their forecast on Tuesday, especially later between 7 p.m. and 10 p.m., the power grid will be stressed again.

In Running Springs, a powerful thunderstorm helped cool things off, although a Flash Flood Warning was also issued.

Certainly a relief, especially for people working outside all day.

“Is there any escaping it? Just drink a lot of water, get you a break under a tree, bring a towel, get that wet under the shade,” said postal carrier Aaron Jamison.

Gov. Gavin Newsom says power outages ‘very likely’ through Wednesday