True perhaps but for those subsisting on Medicare or Medicaid, I don’t think the cost of automatic power generators is covered and they are, as I understand, can be quite expensive and probably out of reach for many.
It is also my understanding that the fires started late at night and spread very rapidly because of the high winds.
Sort of a catch-22 - cut off the power as soon as possible after the winds reach a certain speed likely to cause sparking powerlines or wait and give it more time to try to notify people who were likely asleep. Sound the sirens that many might have thought a tsunami warning and confused on where to go?
I don’t know if the extent of high winds were anticipated ahead of time, if so the authorities and the power company could have given advanced warning of the power being cut off?
With the advances in meteorological forecasting, you would think there was advance information to give early warnings on the news and direct cell phone contacts. I’m not certain if there was any weather information to cause warnings.
In Texas, tornado sirens were installed (and tested monthly) to ensure that warning would be given even if at night.
Not saying that folks who have a siren installed on their block aren’t aggravated when the sirens go off on Testing Tuesday but when that first 100 mph wind comes coursing through the neighborhood, they start to put up with it.
It is still a battle with false weather alarms but it settles down once a real tornado passes nearby.