Utilities working to restore power in Hancock Park and Torrance following heat-related blackouts
Crews were working Saturday morning to restore power in sections of Hancock Park and Torrance following heat-related blackouts throughout the Los Angeles area, officials said.
In Hancock Park, about 170 customers lost power because of heat-related strain, said Carol Tucker, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. She said DWP personnel are in the area making repairs, but the company is not able to estimate when power will be restored.
In Torrance, more than 200 homes and businesses have been without power since 7 p.m. Friday. Southern California Edison spokesman Robert Villegas said the outage stemmed from an equipment problem, adding that crews hope to restore power by 1 p.m.
More than 9,200 DWP customers, many in Westwood and downtown Los Angeles, spent several hours Friday night without electricity because of heat-related outages, but power was restored to those customers early Saturday, Tucker said.
In response to the outages Friday night, DWP went to “heat storm” status, meaning more crews were ready to respond to outages. Tucker said DWP appeared to be in good shape Saturday, but encouraged customers who could to cut back on their use of electricity.
“Anytime there’s an intense heat like this, and especially if we’ve had heat-related outages, it is a good idea to try to conserve energy where possible,” she said, adding that the elderly and ill should not hesitate to use their air conditioners. “We do not want anyone to jeopardize their health.”
Record-breaking heat blanketed much of Southern California on Friday, with the region seeing temperatures in the upper 90s and triple digits. Temperatures are expected to cool only slightly Saturday and will continue to decline Sunday.
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