LA Braces For Another Day Of Triple-Digit Heat Saturday
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) – The heat wave continued Saturday across the Southland, as thousands of people dealt with power outages amid triple-digit temperatures.
The peak of the heat wave came Friday and will continue Saturday with "widespread record-breaking triple-digit heat" expected, the National Weather Service wrote. "The extreme record-breaking heat in combination with single-digit humidities and gusty north winds will continue to bring very critical fire weather conditions across the mountains, Santa Barbara south coast, Santa Clarita Valley, San Fernando Valley and Santa Monica mountains."
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power reported that 34,500 customers were without power as of 8 a.m. Saturday. In Koreatown, a high-rise apartment building for seniors had been without power since Friday night: the 14-story Sheraton Town House Apartments at 639 S. Commonwealth Ave.
Outside L.A. city limits, Southern California Edison also reported power outages related to the temperatures hovering over 110 degrees in some places.
LADWP said it set a July record of 6,256 megawatts used Friday. It's the most used since 2006, when 6,165 megawatts were used.
Officials predicted a usage of 5,500 megawatts Saturday. The agency asked customers to reduce their electricity usage in any way possible.
Extra crews are being made available Saturday to limit the down time when an outage occurs.
LADWP reported that the Westlake area was the most-effected area Friday, with 5,800 customers out of power. Koreatown had 4,400 customers without power, with 2,000 in the Beverly Grove area.
Southern California Edison reported that 8,800 customers were without power Saturday. Twenty-nine of those were scattered arounf in unincorporated parts of Los Angeles County, 15 in Alhambra, 12 in Long Beach and 11 in Monterey Park.
The California ISO, which oversees ordering enough power to meet Californians' needs, did not issue any Flex-Alerts, but did urge conservation.
Hundreds of shoppers were forced to leave The Grove shopping mall in the Fairfax District Friday night after an outage knocked out power there. Power has since been restored.
Red flag warnings will be in effect until 6 p.m. Saturday in the Los Angeles County mountains, Angeles National Forest, Santa Clarita Valley, Santa Monica Mountains Recreational Area and the San Fernando Valley.
Winds across the affected areas are expected to blow between 15 to 30 mph, with gusts in some areas reaching 50 mph, combined with single-digit humidity levels and triple-digit temperatures, forecasters said.
Also in effect is an excessive heat warning everywhere in Los Angeles County, including the San Gabriel and Santa Monica Mountains; the San Fernando, San Gabriel, Santa Clarita, Pomona and Antelope valleys; Catalina, L.A. County beach cities, metropolitan Los Angeles, the downtown area and the Hollywood Hills.
The warning will remain in effect until 9 p.m. Saturday.
Highs expected in those areas include the 80s to mid 90s along the coast; the mid 90s to 105 inland; 95 to 107 in the mountains; and 105 to 112 in the valleys.
Downtown Los Angeles broke the heat record for a July 6 by reaching 95 degrees -- at 10:15 a.m. -- surpassing the 1992 record of 94 degrees. Heat records also fell in areas including Long Beach, Van Nuys, Burbank, Woodland Hills, LAX and Sandberg.
On Friday, downtown Los Angeles broke the heat record for a July 6 by reaching 95 degrees, breaking the 1992 record of 94 degrees. The downtown area eventually hit 108 degrees, shattering the previous mark. Heat records for the date also fell at LAX, at 92 degrees; Long Beach Airport at 109 degrees; UCLA at 111; Burbank at 114; Van Nuys at 117; and Woodland Hills at 117.
The high temperature in Long Beach was a record for July and at UCLA the mercury surpassed the all-time record of 109 set on Sept. 20, 1939. The Van Nuys and Burbank readings were also all-time highs. Sandberg also reached a record high.
Government agencies, meanwhile, reminded the public about the availability of cooling centers across the Southland for people who need a break from high temperatures.
Los Angeles city officials noted that facilities such as recreation centers, senior centers and museums are available for people hoping to cool off. City libraries are also available as cooling centers during their normal operating hours. The city's 32 Summer Night Lights locations will be open until 11 p.m. Saturday.
Other cities also have announced the availability of cooling centers. Malibu officials said the Michael Landon Center at Malibu Bluffs Park, 24250 Pacific Coast Highway, will be available from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and Saturday as a cooling center.
The Duarte Senior Center at 1610 Huntington Drive will be open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. through Sunday for people looking to cool down. Carson will have about a dozen park locations available during afternoon hours through Sunday as cooling centers.
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