Marylanders Continue To Cope With High Heat, Power Outages
BALTIMORE (WJZ)—It's another scorcher out there, as we earn a spot in the record books for the second straight day.
Mike Hellgren has a look at some of the problems being caused by the extreme heat.
As the sun beat down for another day of record heat, Ellen Logan was one of more than 11,000 BGE customers without power. The air conditioner was off for hours at her home.
"We wet the children down with the hose, then we actually became creative. We sat in the car for a few minutes in the air conditioning," Logan said.
"We're thinking about renting a hotel room, you know? And everyone cram into it," Logan added.
Several businesses along Reisterstown Road had to close.
"We heard like a popping noise, and then all the lights went out, man, like all around here," said Ace Williams, Auto Zone employee.
"It's hot," said Gina Albarado, Auto Zone. "It's so hot."
And traffic lights were off too, as the utility scrambled for a fix.
"We'll put more resources in the field so they can more quickly respond to power outages," said Linda Foy, BGE.
BGE already faced hot tempers after it cut air conditioning to some enrolled in its energy-conserving Peak Rewards program.
"It's 87 degrees. I opened the glass doors, the sliding door and the windows and it's cooler. It's cooler," said Bobbie McKinney, Peak Rewards customer.
Beyond the power problems, volunteers went door-to-door to check on the vulnerable.
They were checking to see if "first of all, they have cooling, if their air conditioning is working, if they have the fan on and whatever," said Jim Elliott, Sr., Baltimore City Community Emergency Response Team.
After so many days of heat, many just want relief.
There have been more than 20 deaths nationwide since this heat wave began.
Click here for more information about Baltimore City pool extended hours. Cooling centers are also open. Call 311 to find the one closest to you.
