{"id":56763,"date":"2019-10-28T16:41:34","date_gmt":"2019-10-28T16:41:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/10\/28\/california-blackouts-could-hurt-veterans-va-secretary-warns\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T10:01:31","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T10:01:31","slug":"california-blackouts-could-hurt-veterans-va-secretary-warns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/veterans\/2019\/10\/28\/california-blackouts-could-hurt-veterans-va-secretary-warns\/","title":{"rendered":"California blackouts could hurt veterans, VA secretary warns"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Ongoing power outages in California<\/a> are causing serious worries among top Veterans Affairs leaders across the country, who say thousands of veterans lives could be endangered by the problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a letter to California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday, VA Secretary Robert Wilkie said the blackouts \u201ccould create significant life-threatening issues for the region\u2019s veterans and their families\u201d as well as supplemental VA health care services<\/a> in the state, which is home to more than 1.6 million veterans, the most of any state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPower outages could become dangerous for veterans receiving in-home care and those who rely on power for the refrigeration of life saving medications like insulin,\u201d the letter states. \u201cWith so many veterans dependent upon these necessities, the uncertainty these power outages pose is extremely troubling.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t