Mother of All Grease Fires (1994)
milk.com
March 10, 2026
3 min read
🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
49/100
Summary
The office building in Palo Alto requires approximately one megawatt (1 million watts) of electricity to operate. Its location is surrounded by restaurants and hotels.
Key Takeaways
- A million-watt transformer in Palo Alto was found to be filled with 2,000 gallons of molten frying grease due to illegal dumping by a nearby restaurant.
- The transformer vault's heat prevented the grease from solidifying, creating a significant fire hazard.
- Authorities shut off power, pumped out the grease, and replaced the transformer to prevent a potential disaster.
- The incident highlights the dangers of improper disposal of cooking oil and the risks associated with underground electrical infrastructure.
Coverage & discussions
Hacker News · milk.com
Community discussions
Related Articles
What's slowing down the AI buildout
Jul 9, 2026
245TB Micron 6600 ION Data Center SSD Now Shipping
May 6, 2026
Are Data Centers Sitting On A Goldmine Of Wasted Energy?
Apr 12, 2026
Why harnesses matter for energy (and token) efficiency
Oct 16, 2026
U.S. gov't moves to suppress pushback on data centers
Aug 26, 2026