US Heat Wave Sears California as St. Louis Copes
Date: 25-Jul-06
Country: US
Author: Bernie Woodall
As of Sunday afternoon, 100,000 homes and businesses were without power in California, a survey of the state's big utilities showed.
Even in usual havens from the heat like San Francisco, temperatures soared to records on the weekend with the Bay City hitting 87 degrees (30 Celsius) on Saturday. In places used to the heat, like Palm Springs and the San Fernando Valley near Los Angeles, the heat wave is making history. In Woodland Hills in the valley, the temperature on Sunday hit at least 100 (37.7 Celsius) for the 18th straight day.
A man died, apparently from heat-related illness, after he was taken from a Stockton, California, nursing home to an area hospital. That prompted the evacuation of all 105 patients at the nursing home, according to KCBS-AM, a San Francisco Bay Area radio station.
The nursing home's air conditioner was not working, the station reported. Temperatures in Stockton reached 115 degrees Fahrenheit (46 C) on Sunday.
An estimated 800,000 Californians experienced at least temporary loss of electricity during the weekend as air conditioners battled temperatures as high as 122 degrees Fahrenheit (50 Celsius) in Palm Springs, California, and more than 110 degrees (43 Celsius) in the San Fernando Valley near Los Angeles and the Central Valley east of San Francisco.
In the northern part of the state on Saturday Sacramento hit a record 109 degrees (42.7 Celsius) and 112-degree (44.4 Celsius) readings were reported in Red Bluff, Stockton and Modesto.
Southern California's temperatures fell a bit on Sunday but were expected to rise again on Monday when the state's power grid is expected to have yet another day of record demand. Even with the high demand, no emergency blackouts are foreseen, said Gregg Fishman, spokesman for California Independent System Operator, the manager of the grid.
The California power grid operator called a "Stage One" power emergency on Saturday, the first of the summer, meaning there was little reserve electricity available.
In Missouri and Illinois, the Red Cross was sheltering people from 750 homes and had delivered 50,000 meals to homes without electricity.
"We kept the shelters open over the weekend even though it cooled a little," said Jessica Willingham of the St. Louis Area Red Cross. She noted that the highs on Saturday and Sunday in St. Louis were in the mid- to upper-80s.
"Currently, it's 87 degrees (30 Celsius) so that's not too bad but if you haven't had power since Wednesday," she said Sunday evening. "That makes it a little tough."
Crews were returning service to the St. Louis area after violent storms last week, cutting the number without power to less than 250,000 homes and businesses from 300,000 earlier Sunday, according to Ameren Corp., owner of the local power company.
US President George W. Bush approved Missouri's request for expedited diaster relief on Friday, clearing the way for federal help.
A total of 1.1 million homes and businesses have been without power at some point since Wednesday night, said Ameren.
In New York City, about 9,000 customers remained without power on Sunday in the borough of Queens, down from 25,000 powerless homes and businesses last Thursday, said Mike Clendenin of Consolidated Edison.