Thousands Of Marylanders Brave Heat Wave In Seventh Day Without Power
BALTIMORE (WJZ)— A Heat Advisory is in effect for parts of Maryland, and the weekend will not give us a break from these dangerous conditions. It's been a week since a massive storm shut the lights off in Maryland, and thousands are still braving the heat without air conditioning.
Monique Griego has more on how people are surviving this heat without power days after a storm slammed Maryland.
Baltimore Gas and Electric (BGE) says the restoration damage is taking so long because of downed trees throughout the area. While crews are working non-stop, residents say they can't help but be frustrated.
For the past week, BGE and utility crews from across the country have been removing trees and repairing electrical lines.
But despite an around-the-clock effort, thousands of BGE customers are facing another brutally hot weekend without service.
"It's just heat. No real way to cool off," said one person.
"I can't store no food in here. I had to give the food away because it's no power," Lamont Brooks of Woodlawn said.
Brooks will likely fork over more cash for a hotel room rather than sit and bake inside his Woodlawn home.
"It's rough. It's wiping out my account," he said.
BGE says the lengthy repair process is due to the hurricane-like damage.
While the utility has restored power to a large percent of its customers, nearly 11,000 are still waiting for repairs.
"We'll continue restoring people throughout the weekend," Rachael Lighty, a spokeswoman for BGE, said.
On Friday, WJZ showed up at several neighborhoods just as crews got the power going.
"When I saw the light, I was like, 'Thank God. I am so glad,'" Shirley Tindal said.
Tindal had never been so happy to see her porch light on. The Pikesville resident turned on her air conditioning for the first time in a week. But says she still can't stay here just yet.
"Oh my gosh! My house is like a steam bath," she said.
Despite the ongoing headache, residents say they appreciate the sacrifices these guys are also making and know things could have been worse.
"It's frustrating but I just thank God me and my family is OK," one resident said.
BGE plans to work though the weekend but still can't give an exact date for when all power will be restored. The utility has had more than 1 million phone calls come into its call center and 5,000 emails.
A total of 11,755 BGE customers are still without power-- 5,053 in Baltimore County, 4,218 in Baltimore City, 966 in Anne Arundel County and 526 in Howard County.
Pepco is reporting on its website that 2,493 of its customers are without power-- 2,398 are in Montgomery County and 95 in Prince George's County.
To check the BGE outages, click here.
