Mass storm outages bring misery across California, exposing power grid's vulnerabilities
David Higares was on his fourth day without power in his Morada, California, home in San Joaquin County when he woke up to indoor temperatures barely above 50 degrees.
His lights had flickered twice since his neighborhood outside Stockton went dark Saturday, following one of the train of atmospheric river storms, but his home remained dark, he said. Each time he checked, it seemed Pacific Gas & Electric had again pushed back the estimate for restoring power.
"It feels endless at this point," said Higares, who lost all the food in his refrigerator and freezer due to spoilage. "Basically, we're camping indoors."
Since New Year's Eve, hundreds of thousands of Californians have lost power — many multiple times — as a string of severe winter storms has provided the latest glimpse into how extreme weather tied to climate
