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As Calif. heat soars, so does death toll

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published July 26, 2006

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Gripped by a 10th straight day of 100-degree heat, California sweated out the possibility of more blackouts Tuesday as the number of suspected heat-related deaths climbed to at least 53 and the rotting carcasses of thousands of dairy cows and other livestock baked in the sun.

Some communities faced their third day without electricity as the record-breaking temperatures strained transmission equipment.

"We're asking people for one more day of conservation," said Gregg Fishman, the California Independent System Operator, which manages the state's power grid. "We're not out of the woods yet."

The stretch of 100-plus degree days that descended on the state last week marks the first time in 57 years both Northern and Southern California have experienced extended heat waves simultaneously, California Undersecretary for Energy Affairs Joe Desmond said.

In the Central Valley, where most of the deaths have occurred, temperatures were expected to reach 100 to 105 degrees on Tuesday, down from 110 to 115 in previous days. Truly cooler weather was not expected until today, when the system was forecast to move east into Nevada and Utah.

Coroners in 13 counties were investigating deaths that appeared heat-related. Most of the victims were elderly. Among the dead was a nursing home patient in Stockton who died after the air conditioning gave out in 115-degree weather. A gardener collapsed on the job and died. A woman was found dead along a bike path.

On Tuesday, three elderly residents of single-room occupancy hotels within four blocks of the state Capitol were found dead. The rooms had no air conditioning.

The triple-digit heat has been hard on livestock as well, causing thousands of deaths and a dip in milk production in the No. 1 dairy state, according to agriculture officials.

Tens of thousands of customers in Northern and Southern California had no electricity. About 1,700 San Jose customers faced their third day without power, and some residents slept in back yards and hotel rooms to escape the stifling heat.

Pacific Gas & Electric spokesman Brian Swanson said most outages were caused by equipment failures and not a shortage of electricity.

In St. Louis, about 145,000 homes and businesses were still without power after two storms last week knocked out electricity to nearly 600,000 customers. A utility worker was electrocuted Tuesday and another was injured while trying to restore power.

In New York, a blackout that left about 100,000 people without electricity during some of the hottest days of the year all but ended Tuesday, allowing residents who endured nine days in sweltering homes to begin getting back to normal.

Con Edison said fewer than 500 people remained without electricity in Queens as of Tuesday evening.

[Last modified July 26, 2006, 01:45:23]