Even here in Oakland, one of my friends has such a long drain pipe, he has to pump the flushed water to the sewer, so he has a genset for that. And while we have reserviors up in the hills, without electric pumps, they can get drained. They needed gensets for the recent fire-related electrical shutdowns (which didn’t last long enough to be a problem).
The grooves on 78’s are wider than those on LP’s. I was a radio engineer for a while for a jazz show, and had to change cartridges for the 78’s. And I had at least one record player with 16 2/3 revs, and listened to a couple of books on it, back in my youth.
He’d best be careful, California is going to be hit by the first tropical storm since 1939, and it will severely impact the trails in the Sierra.