SAN DIEGO (NEWS 8) - Temperatures are set to soar starting Friday as a dangerous heat wave moves into San Diego County.
Firefighters are preparing for increased fire danger by beefing up their staffing for the weekend, and SDG&E crews are on alert as natural gas constraints in Southern California pose a risk to the region's power supply.
"We have enough secured resources at the moment and through the summer. We're not worried per se about the next few days having enough, but anything could happen at any time," said Allison Torres with SDG&E.
More than 43-percent of the region's energy comes from solar and wind, but SDG&E said the highest use of energy is between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m.
SDG&E urged the public to: close blinds during the day, turn the thermostat up a few degrees, use large appliances late in the day and invest in a smart strip.
"People don't realize how much the laptop, phone, chargers, their television and gaming consoles are continuing to draw energy. So, if you have a smart strip installed it knows when to down a device from the socket and stop drawing energy altogether," said Torres.
Wildfires could also have an impact on power lines.
"We want to keep the fire small and so we will be able to hit those a lot quicker than we normally would with normal staffing," said Dep. Chief Steve Ricci, San Diego Fire Rescue Department.
San Diego Fire Rescue will have five "4-people" brush engines, a water tender and extra dispatchers to help with increased phone calls - especially for a busy Father's Day weekend.
"Be careful with your barbecues, with their grills, with the cigarette butts and things like that," said Chief Ricci.
SDFR's advice to the public is to: keep pets out of hot cars, check on the elderly, place BBQ coals in the right receptacle, and be sure to report any fire.
"We will have to see what happens after Sunday because this heat may continue and we may continue to up-staff," said Chief Ricci.