‘Light My Fire’ Calls Flood SDG&E; as Night Temperatures Plunge

Chilly nights this week brought thousands of calls to San Diego Gas & Electric requesting the company’s free gas furnace re-lighting service, a company spokesman said Thursday.

“It (bad weather) usually comes in gradually and we like it that way” but this year it came early and it came all at once, SDG&E; official Norm Niles said.

On Tuesday a record 4,500 orders for the re-lighting service were written, Niles said. By Thursday SDG&E; was averaging 2,200 orders per day, he added.

The explosion in customer demand for re-lighting had resulted in a backlog of more than 10,000 orders by Thursday, Niles said. Some employees will be working six days a week, 13 hours a day until the backlog is trimmed, he said.

On Saturday, 106 employees will be on the job re-lighting furnaces, Niles said. Normally about 70 people work during the week and only 25 on Saturday.

Niles said demand for the service is usually heavy this time of year and SDG&E; has been urging customers to have their furnaces re-lighted earlier in the year rather than wait until the last minute.

Many customers now face a two-week wait for the re-lighting service, Niles said. Emergency calls will still be handled on the same day as the call, he said.

Amid this hot problem with the cold, clear skies returned to San Diego County Thursday. But forecasters said a second storm is moving in in the wake of the one that dumped nearly two inches of rain on the county early in the week. The new storm could arrive by Sunday.

All roads flooded by the earlier storm were reopened Thursday and snow began to melt in San Diego County’s mountains. The air was also drier as humidity dropped to a low 32% at noon at Lindbergh Field.

The temperatures dropped to 45 degrees at Lindbergh Field Wednesday night and plunged below freezing in mountain and desert areas.

Forecasters said a high-pressure system over California should promote slightly warmer daytime and nighttime temperatures today and Saturday.

“Temperatures are rising now and will be quite mild during the day, but people shouldn’t be fooled by that. It will still be cool at night,” forecaster Wilbur Shigehara said.

The high-pressure system will begin to drift eastward and out of the state on Saturday, opening the way for a new storm to move down from Alaska, forecasters said. By Sunday cloudiness and a chance of rain were predicted, but no predictions were made on how strong the storm would be.

Until then, fair skies are expected, except for a chance of early-morning and late-night fog.

Highs at the beach are expected to be in the low to mid-60s, with surf of two to five feet.

Coastal strip highs in the 60s and lows in the 40s are expected. Inland valley highs will be in the 70s with lows in the 30s.

In the mountains, where gusty winds may develop Sunday, daytime temperatures today and Saturday are expected to be in the 44- to 52-degree range with lows in the 20s and 30s.