“Hundreds of thousands of people are believed to have experienced brief power outages through the evening, after the body that manages most of the state’s electric utilities declared a Stage 3 emergency to help reduce stress on the larger grid. Electricity demand surged through the day as temperatures topped the triple digits in many parts of the state and people cranked up fans and air-conditioning units to try to stay cool.” NPR: California Issues 1st Rolling Blackouts Since 2001 As Heat Wave Bakes Western U.S. (We were a few hours into our first real heat wave of the summer and the lights went out. Not a good sign.)