Issue link: https://imageup.uberflip.com/i/1344346
FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | MARCH 2021 23 PUBLIC SAFETY POWER SHUTOFFS (PSPS) It was a little over a year ago that the California Public Utilities Commission (PUC) decided to help the state's electric companies. Northern California utility PGE was being sued for damage that was caused by a fire that was started from a downed power line. The PSPS allowed PGE to turn off the power to their transmission lines to help keep fires from starting. In Four Seasons at Beaumont we have two separate power grids. The dividing line appears to be the Edison easement. Recent power shutoffs in the area saw the older section of our community suffer from a lack of electricity for half a day or more. I was told that parts of Solera Oak Valley were without power for two days or more. In this article, we will try and give you a few tips that may help you in the event of a power shutoff. Move your car out of your garage while you have electricity. Your car is your transportation and it is also a power source for computers and cell phones. Try and keep three quarters of a tank of gas at all times. Your car radio can provide you with the news. Pull out an ice chest and fill it with milk, eggs and juice from your refrigerator; this will keep you from opening the door. Empty the ice from your freezer and put it in the ice chest. This will allow more ice to be made. Find any candles and put them on the kitchen table along with a lighter. You may want to place batteries for your flashlights there too. If you have a gas stove you can still cook. Try and avoid the oven because of electric controls. Charge all of your electronics. Coleman lookalike lanterns from the dollar store are a good source of reading light. While you are at the store you might want to pick up some more cans of food or juice. Try the ones that do not need a can opener or buy a manual can opener if you need one. Open your medicine cabinet and keep your medications on the table where they will be easy to find. You may want to keep your medical cards and insurance information close at hand. Please take this list and use it for your emergency preparations. I was watching the news the other day and the reporter told people of pending power problems. He suggested that people who are handicapped or have animals should not wait for the last warning to evacuate; they should do it now. My thanks to Len Tavernetti for giving me the information for this article. Our next meeting is Tuesday, March 16 at 10 am on Zoom. ~ Michael A. Mendoza, EPC Chairman, srmendoza@verizon.net Emergency Preparedness Committee Facilities Committee Our current projects include replacing the faded trail marker signs throughout the community and replacing the kiosk maps and information kiosks that have faded. The park area and trail where the Veterans Tree is located, now called the Highland Springs Trail, is being renamed the Veterans Park. We are working on proposals to change the lettering on that monument and adding an American flag with the new lettering. The construction of new shuffleboard courts is continuing. You should notice the addition of more doggie stations on the trails. Eight more have been added. The Facilities Committee meets via Zoom right now on the second Wednesday of the month at 10 am. We have an opening for an additional committee member at this time if anyone is interested. We always welcome residents to join us and share their ideas or concerns. ~ Jim Griffin, jjimgriff08@aol.com