Power Outages Make Heat Wave Unbearable For Southland Residents
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Power outages cut air conditioning Sunday for thousands of Southland residents suffering through triple-digit heat.
The outages hit throughout the afternoon but many were short-lived, only lasting a few hours, according to the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and Southern California Edison.
Power was out for approximately 900 customers in Toluca Lake, 1,100 in the Fairfax District, 500 in Tarzana and 800 in Corona. Many more experienced outages in Granada Hills, Tujunga, Sun Valley, Sherman Oaks, Westwood, South Gate, Whittier, Norwalk, West Covina, Duarte, Pomona, La Habra, Lakewood, Bellflower and Garden Grove.
Customers in Tarzana got their power back on shortly before 6 p.m. It's unclear if the outage was caused when a tree took out a power line and sparked a small vegetation fire.
Temperatures soared up to 106 degrees in Sun Valley where crews were working to get residents' appliances back on, CBS2/KCAL9's Greg Mills reported.
"The air went off and it's about 95 [degrees] in the house, and I've got animals," Sun Valley resident Desiree Meyers said.
Losing power can be dangerous for those with limited mobility and the elderly.
Sun Valley resident Wally Araujo is diabetic and needs to keep his insulin refrigerated: "I put it in the freezer right now. There's still some ice in there and it will hold if [the power] is going to come back in four hours."
SCE and DWP said the cause of the power outages were under investigation.
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