Californians left in dark as heat wave continues
Pastor Dale Morgan
Californians left in dark as heat wave continues*
* Story Highlights
* Forecasters: Temperatures could hit 108 in Hollywood Hills, 110 in
the desert
* Utility companies say 23,500 people in, around Los Angeles without
power
* Lightning, heat blamed for disrupting electricity in southern
California
* Corporation overseeing power grid urges Californians to conserve
energy
LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- Temperatures headed back toward triple
digits Monday, the seventh day of a heat wave that has contributed to
blackouts leaving thousands without air conditioning.
art.heat.wave.ap.jpg
Odessa Dodd uses a mister Sunday to fight the 106-degree heat at a
NASCAR race in Fontana, California.
Temperatures as high as 108 were expected in the Hollywood Hills, with
the mercury likely to pass 110 in the region's desert areas, according
to the National Weather Service.
At 7 a.m. (10 a.m. ET), the weather service said, it was already 77 in
downtown Los Angeles, where thermometers peaked at 100 on Sunday.
About 3,500 customers in scattered parts of Los Angeles still had no
electricity early Monday, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power
spokeswoman MaryAnne Piersen said.
"Probably more than 90 percent of them are due to stress on the system
due to the heat," she said. "Different pieces of equipment get fatigued
and blow out, so they have to be replaced."
Lightning that struck power system equipment during scattered desert
thunderstorms added to the strain on the system.
Some 20,000 Southern California Edison customers in Los Angeles, Orange,
Ventura, Riverside and San Bernardino counties also had no electricity,
spokesman Steve Conroy said.
"We expect at this point to make solid progress at getting a lot of the
service back during the morning and midday hours," Conroy said.
The California Independent System Operator, which oversees the state's
power grid, said no major shortages were expected Monday, but it urged
customers to conserve.
Dozens of cooling centers were opened across California on Sunday for
people who had no air conditioning as temperatures hit 109 in Woodland
Hills in the San Fernando Valley and more than 100 in other parts of the
state. Parts of the area have had triple-digit highs since at least
early last week