The first two times Pacific Gas & Electric shut off power in a Public Safety Power Shutoff or PSPS, in response to a forecast of high winds, areas quite close to me were affected but our downtown kept the lights on. I received multiple phone alerts from PG&E both times telling me power was going to be shut off, had been shut off, and then apologizing for taking so long to restore it, all while I was blow-drying my hair and microwaving burritos with impunity. When they announced a third event the Kincade Fire was devouring portions of Sonoma County and things seemed more serious, but I had my doubts that anything was really going to happen. It was only when a friend checked in to ask if I was well supplied and invite me to come over that I thought, oh, I guess it’s going down. And it did, for four full days.
My own experience of the shutdown was anomalous in that it was positive. I rose at dawn and went to bed at sundown, took a long walk around my neighborhood each day, talked to neighbors more than in the four years I’ve lived here, and made a passable kitchari from damaged ingredients in my fridge and freezer that would otherwise have been thrown out. Kids cruised my street on scooters as schools were closed. I expected someone to pass by rolling a hoop with a stick. Street lights were off, so I avoided busy intersections and didn’t shop at all save one trip to a liquor store for a bag of candy corn. My major losses were two popsicles that melted, leaving a purple puddle in my freezer.
Apart from growing up in the woods where 7-10 day power outages were common, I had other advantages—a gas range, hot water for showering, a well-stocked pantry and fresh food purchased the day of the outage at the farmers market. Others were not so lucky. Around town and all around the state people tried to prepare, but challenges arose. Gas lines were extensive, with hours-long wait times reported. Some people were able to get battery packs for medical equipment; if not, you could gut it out or relocate for the duration. Cooking on a camp stove is fun for a long weekend if you’ve got appropriate food — trying to make it work on an apartment balcony for all three meals quickly becomes an ordeal. Lost work and wages begin to create a fiscal sinkhole that can be hard to emerge from. Power was restored, but times in California are decidedly dark.
A talking point among neighbors and my landlord, who kindly came home early from vacation to run a generator and generally be around as needed, was to call out “complainers” and suggest that people get over the inconvenience and suck it up. Learning to prepare for disasters is a great skill to have in one’s toolbox. But it doesn’t seem unfair or inaccurate to recall that PG&E has known its equipment was old and failing and chose not to deal with that fact, while rewarding themselves handsomely. They failed to coordinate their messaging or present clear information about the shutoffs to a justifiably worried public. They have expressed no sympathy to the small businesses for whom this amounts to a crisis, or the larger ones that suffered as well. When I finally did make it to some local markets, the gaps on shelves and empty freezers indicated we will be recovering for some time, after which the lights may go out yet again.
There’s an opportunity for something great to happen here, a kernel that is already sprouting. The strengthening of connections that can happen in a crisis builds community and individual resilience, reduces the likelihood of depression, and can lead to phone charging parties and other spontaneous actions. The climate crisis is both acute, like the wildfires it’s spawning, and ongoing; a neighbor was glad for the chance to practice for the next emergency, saying, “It’s supposed to be like this for at least the next ten years.” One hopes we can develop a habit of caring for our neighbors and communities and not succumb to fatigue; we will only be better for such efforts to take back our power. But let’s take back stewardship of our actual power, too, since the folks in charge of it have so plainly demonstrated their lack of qualifications.
Heather Seggel is a writer living in Northern California. Email heatherlseggel@gmail.com.
From The Progressive Populist, December 15, 2019
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