Rumors of nationwide blackout are a hoax

Rumors of a nationwide electrical blackout this weekend are false.

A planned nationwide anti-Trump, anti-Fascism protest by Refuse Fascism on Saturday and a government blackout drill have been thrown together in the rumor mill.

Now Facebook and Twitter are filled with questions about whether people can use their phones this weekend. It's Jade Helm 15 all over again.

There is a protest planned and there is a blackout drill, but it's just a drill. Your power will stay on. 

The only reason to get excited about it is if you're a special breed of nerd, like this reporter: a radio nerd.

Some people dress up in Medieval costumes and pretend to have battles. Amateur radio operators pretend a solar flare has taken out the electrical grid, and then try to keep communicating.

The Department of the Defense will conduct a “communications interoperability” training exercise from Nov. 4-6. 

“This exercise will begin with a notional massive coronal mass ejection event which will impact the national power grid as well as all forms of traditional communication, including landline telephone, cellphone, satellite, and Internet connectivity,” said Paul English, Army Military Auxiliary Radio System program manager.

During the exercise, the Department of Defense will try to establish radio contact with all 3,143 counties in the country. And those you have an amateur radio license issued by the Federal Communications Commission can participate by checking in.

So there are some options for this weekend. You can protest this weekend. You can pretend "the grid" is gone. Or you can just continue life normally with a working cell phone and water heater.