CA heat wave raises wildfire, illness risks

The high in the Bay Area city where I live was 95 degrees Tuesday, which caught me so off guard that I thought my phone’s location setting was stuck in Sacramento. But it wasn’t. And it was hot.

This week’s unusual and brutal heat wave in California is expected to cool off starting today, but not by much. Excessive heat warnings or heat advisories remain in place until tonight in the coastal ranges, Santa Cruz Mountains, Salinas Valley and other regions, with alerts for Death Valley and parts of San Bernardino County in effect through Friday. 

Besides climate change, which intensifies heat waves, you can blame and shake your fists at “offshore winds, dry air, and high pressure,” for the high temperatures, according to the National Weather Service.

Several Southern California cities smashed records Tuesday. Already, Sacramento, Stockton and Modesto have set marks for the number of triple-digit days within a calendar year.

The sweltering heat is also lowering humidity levels, which can make wildfires more powerful, including the Line Fire that firefighters have been battling for nearly a month in San Bernardino County. It has burned more than 43,000 acres and is still only 76% contained. So far this year, about 1 million acres have been burned in California. (Check out CalMatters’ wildfire tracker for live updates on active fires and find out more in our explainer.)

But wildfires aren’t the only concern when temperatures soar. Lost wages and agricultural disruptions cost the state billions of dollars. Students in K-12 public schools, due to a lack of updated air conditioning systems, can fall ill or learn less effectively. And farmworkers, who are also vulnerable to heat illness, can lose their jobs trying to protect themselves from sweltering temperatures.

Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a handful of key bills that would have addressed some of these issues. That includes ones that would have created a plan to make schools more climate resilient; made it easier for farmworkers to file for workers’ compensation for heat illness; and allowed victims of 2021’s Dixie Fire and 2022’s Mill Fire to avoid paying state taxes on their settlement money.

The state Senate will convene next week to take up Gov. Newsom’s proposal to require oil refineries to stock a minimum supply of inventory to ease gas price spikes, after the Assembly passed the measure Tuesday, writes CalMatters Capitol reporter Alexei Koseff.

Senate leader Mike McGuire announced Tuesday night that his chamber will convene Monday, hold hearings that day and the next and hold a floor session on Oct. 11.  

Newsom, in a statement: “Just last year, price spikes cost Californians more than $2 billion. … This has to end, and with the legislature’s support, we’ll get this done for California families.”

A few moderate Democrats and Republicans voted against the bill, while several others declined to vote. GOP lawmakers, along with oil and gas companies, have slammed the proposal, arguing that it will increase pump prices and cause gas shortages instead. 

Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher of Chico, during the floor debate: “The truth is the government is the one who’s gouging us. You’re not looking out for the consumers.”

Some economists say that the measure could work, but that it does not address other aspects of California’s higher-than-average gas prices. Learn more about the special session in Alexei’s story.

In other Capitol news:

Health care minimum wage: After labor groups won a minimum wage increase for health care workers to $25 an hour starting June 1, pay raises for some were delayed due to state budget constraints. CalMatters health reporter Ana B. Ibarra has learned that the pay bump will kick in this month. Read more about the wage hike in the story.

Undocumented students: The coalition advocating for undocumented students to be able to work on University of California campuses is now suing the university system, writes CalMatters higher education reporter Mikhail Zinshteyn. Gov. Newsom vetoed a bill that would have green-lit the policy, echoing the UC’s concerns that it could have violated federal law. Learn more about the lawsuit.

The two major-party candidates running this fall for U.S. Senate in California disagree about a lot of issues. Support for Israel isn’t one of them.

Soon after Iran launched nearly 200 missiles at Israeli cities on Tuesday, both Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff and Republican Steve Garvey issued statements declaring that the United States should continue to back Israel and defending its right to kill terrorists.

Schiff, in a statement: “The elimination of Hassan Nasrallah and much of his top leadership — terrorists that have the blood of thousands of innocent people including Americans on their hands — provides some measure of justice for their victims and some measure of security against their continued operations. … The United States stands with Israel as it confronts yet another attack from a despotic regime bent on its destruction.” 

Garvey, in a statement: “I stand with Israel yesterday, today, and tomorrow. … Now more than ever, we must provide Israel with the military aid and resources necessary to protect its people and secure its borders. As your Senator, I will work tirelessly to ensure the U.S. remains a steadfast partner to Israel, defending peace and stability in the region.”

Garvey visited Israel in June and called pro-Palestinian campus protestors “terrorists” in April. Schiff has long been a champion of Israel and waited until after many other Democrats before calling for a full ceasefire in the Gaza war.

Debate time: ABC7 in Los Angeles confirmed that the only scheduled televised debate between Garvey and Schiff will be at 5 p.m. Oct. 8. The forum is cosponsored by the League of Women Voters of California and Univision.  

In 2010, an employee at a state commission that credentials police officers flagged expense discrepancies to auditors — and lost her job. Now, the state must pay up after a federal jury said it was in retaliation for whistleblowing. Find out how much she won from CalMatters’ Nigel Duara.