California Wildfire Threatens Power Grid as Newsom’s Prevention Program Stalls

A wildfire in California known as the Electra Fire is threatening the regional power grid after reaching 4,000 acres in size on Tuesday, while a wildfire prevention plan introduced by Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has failed to make a significant difference.

The fire is in the center of the state, between San Francisco and the Nevada border. The Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday:

A fast-growing wildfire burning along the border of Amador and Calaveras counties was poised to become one of the biggest of the season as it approached 4,000 acres Tuesday, prompting evacuations and contributing to widespread power outages across the region.

…

There were 1,334 personnel attacking the fire from the air and ground, Cal Fire said, and more support was en route. The agency said on Twitter that more than 128 engine companies, 22 water tenders, 33 bulldozers, 39 hand crews and multiple aircraft were working to establish containment lines.

…

The fire was also wreaking havoc on the electric grid, with more than 12,000 customers without power Tuesday afternoon, Pacific Gas & Electric spokeswoman Megan McFarland said.

The cause of the fire is unclear, though it began on the Fourth of July, a time when many people are using fireworks. The state’s vegetation is very dry after three years of extreme drought, which followed a five-year drought that ended in 2018.

In April, as Breitbart News noted, investigations by Capital Public Radio and National Public Radio’s California Newsroom found that Newsom’s wildfire prevention program had yet to complete a single project. The governor had also misled the public about the success of the project, according to another investigation by the two outlets in 2021.

Newsom is advertising on Fox News in Florida, urging residents to move to California and positioning himself for a possible presidential run.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. His recent book, RED NOVEMBER, tells the story of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary from a conservative perspective. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.

Photo: file