Extreme heat strains the power grid and causes outages through Los Angeles County

The dangerously hot weather strained the power grid to failure throughout Los Angeles County on Friday, the peak of the record-setting heat wave. 

"Extreme heat has caused power outages in some neighborhoods. @LADWP crews are working to restore power quickly and safely," Mayor Karen Bass posted on X. High temperatures are expected to sustain for the next three days."

Since Wednesday, most of the region has endured an excessive heat warning, bringing "dangerously hot conditions" that have sparked widespread wildfire concerns in LA, Ventura, and Santa Barbara counties. The triple-digit temperatures set records throughout Southern California, including 114 degrees in Burbank, which tied its daily, monthly and all-time highs.

The sweat-inducing weather caused more than 16,500 outages in the City of LA alone. It strained Glendale and Pasadena's grid to their breaking points. Pasadena instituted rolling outages for an hour in the late afternoon while crews repaired equipment. Residents in the San Fernando Valley, where temperatures consistently reached above 100 degrees, bore the brunt of the outages, with dozens scattered around the area. 

However, the single-largest outage affected close to 3,300 customers in the neighborhoods surrounding USC. 

"Power on the [University Park] Campus is currently operational. LADWP is working to restore service. It is unknown at this time how long the outage will last," officials wrote in the alert. "Please check with LADWP for updates."

While the outages affected thousands in Los Angeles, the statewide grid remained stable, with California ISO expecting enough power to cover the increased demands. 

"With cooler weather on the way, the California ISO power grid remains stable and sufficient supplies are projected to cover demand through [Saturday]," the agency tweeted.

Meteorologists expect the heat wave to end Monday night.