Social media post from Napa Valley Veterans Home resident decries power outage amid heat

A resident of the Veterans Home of California in Yountville caught attention Saturday when he posted on the social media platform Nextdoor.

The 77-year-old resident, Mike McKee, said residents that day were “suffering” from the fifth “all-day” power outage — though he later clarified that the planned outage didn’t happen that day. The temperature was well into the 90s and had triggered a heat advisory.

The post, however, said power was shut-off the prior afternoon, and had been off three other times in the last two weeks, twice while heat reached 100 degrees.

His post had over 100 comments by Monday afternoon.

CalVet spokesperson Joshua Kiser confirmed Monday that outages had occurred within the past month, but are connected to the construction of a new skilled nursing and memory care facility on the campus, which spans over 600 acres just south of town and is the largest veterans home in the U.S.

He said the center’s roughly 600 residents were notified of the outages at least 24 hours prior, that generators provide power to much of the facility and that the center’s main dining room has been used as a cooling area for residents.

“We understand these power outages may be a nuisance to some home residents, however they are essential to the completion of the new building,” Kiser wrote.

But McKee, in his post, called it a serious health issue that “apparently goes without concern.”

He called on people to help the residents by calling CalVet or politicians “who can stop this unhealthy situation.”

McKee didn’t immediately respond to The Press Democrat’s request for comment Monday.

Several users called the situation “outrageous,” saying they had contacted CalVet, local officials and media outlets.

On Saturday, after McKee’s initial post, he added that power had not been turned off yet that day. The next day, he wrote that the 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. outage had been delayed to Tuesday.

Kiser said all residents of the home are notified of an upcoming outage at a minimum of 24 hours prior. Typically, he said, residents are given several days of advance notice via email, flyers and closed circuit television updates, among other communications.

Stationary generators have provided power to all the home’s licensed care buildings during the outages, according to Kiser, and portable generators have been provided to all independent living buildings.

The home’s main dining room has generator power, he added. That space has been used as a cooling center during hot weather and “as a place for residents to socialize, access the internet and charge electronics and mobility devices.”

“In the case of unplanned outages, the home’s plant operations department works with PG&E to resolve outages as quickly as possible,” Kiser wrote.

This story is developing.

You can reach Staff Writer Edward Booth at 707-521-5281 or edward.booth@pressdemocrat.com .