California public safety power shutdowns

Wed Oct 9 20:26:27 UTC 2019

Questions & some answers...

- Will this affect public water supply?

Generally no.  Public water supplies have backup generators.  Since 
this is only a power shut-off, and no other damage or disaster to the 
water system, public water systems will operate as normal.  Nevertheless, 
its always a good idea to have 3 to 7 days bottled water stored for 
emergencies.

- Will this affect cellphone service?

Generally no because this is a power shutoff, without other disaster 
damage.  All major switching offices have backup generators for 24 
to 72 hours and nearly all cell towers and outside plant have backup 
batteries for 4 to 8 hours and/or backup generators.  Service providers 
should be able to re-charge batteries and refill generator tanks 
throughout the power shut-off.  Of course, if there is some other disaster 
during this time, there would be less resiliance in the network.

During wildfire, only a couple of cell towers were damaged by fire.  Most 
of the cellular outages were due to damage to backhaul fiber, i.e. trees 
fallling on lines and melted fiber cables.

For longer power outages, you can recharge your cell phone with an 
external battery or solar charger can help.

Remember, Cable and DSL VOIP and in-home wireless phones need electric 
power to operate.  There are fewer and fewer copper-fed POTS lines with 
power from the telephone central office.

- What about CB radio?

California Highway Patrol does not regularly monitor CB radio anymore, but 
does listen to Channel 9 during disasters.  I haven't seen CHPs plan for 
power shut-offs, but in case of an emergency always try calling 9-1-1 
first.

Its always a good idea to have a portable, battery-operated AM/FM radio 
and fresh batteries.  If you listen to the radio in your car, do not run 
the engine inside the garage.  All combustion engines should only be used 
outside.

If you have a license, Amateur Radio (ham radio) operators are active in 
the power shut-off areas.