Hours before fires largely destroyed the historic Hawaiian town of Lahaina, residents of another part of Maui were trying to stop flames reaching their homes despite a frustrating loss of pressure in their water system.
“If all those had had generators, I think there is a pretty good chance we could have kept up,” Stufflebean said.
The fire wasn’t the first time Kula’s lack of backup power was exposed. A 2021 storm knocked out power for several days, and without enough water pressure, bacteria got into pipes that took months to clear. Brief power disruptions are fairly common and water systems typically rely on water still in the pipes or kept in tanks and reservoirs to temporarily maintain pressure, according to Chad Seidel, president of Corona Environmental Consulting. The problem comes when a catastrophe hits and water quickly leaves through fire hoses or damaged pipes, and there’s no power to keep moving new water in.
The city of Louisville, Colorado, installed backup generators many years ago for their pumps — one diesel, the other powered by a natural gas line. Public works director Kurt Kowar said back then the city was in a “low if nonexistent” fire risk zone, before climate change made some wildfires increasingly common and more intense. They didn’t expect a major blaze would engulf the city and take down the electrical grid, asdid after it erupted on a dry and windy day in December 2021.
A couple of months after the Marshall Fire ravaged Louisville, Winter Storm Uri hit Texas, causing rolling blackouts that affected millions. Shallow water pipes froze and burst; the problem worsened when pumps lost power and stopped moving water. OfficialsTexas lawmakers subsequently required utilities to devise plans to last a day in an emergency without losing too much water pressure.
México Últimas Noticias, México Titulares
Similar News:También puedes leer noticias similares a ésta que hemos recopilado de otras fuentes de noticias.
Costco is selling gold bars, and they're selling out within hoursCostco said it's now selling 1-ounce gold bars, but can't keep them in stock because of strong demand.
Leer más »
Costco is selling gold bars — and they are selling out within hoursThe retail giant is selling 1 ounce gold bars online. The company's CFO said they are in hot demand.
Leer más »
Woman killed in Oakland hit-and-run; body discovered more than 24 hours laterA 72-year-old woman was killed by a hit-and-run driver Tuesday morning in Oakland but her body was not found until Wednesday afternoon, authorities said.
Leer más »
Power back on after second outage in 24 hours at Baptist Medical Center SouthPatients were left in the dark and with appointments rescheduled on Wednesday, into Thursday morning, due to two separate power outages at Baptist Medical Center South in just 24 hours.
Leer más »
Power back on after second outage in 24 hours at Baptist Medical Center SouthPatients were left in the dark and with appointments rescheduled on Wednesday, into Thursday morning, due to two separate power outages at Baptist Medical Center South in just 24 hours.
Leer más »