Thousands of people in the greater Pittsburgh area were without power on Wednesday as the city was set to experience some of the hottest conditions in the United States.
With heat indexes forecast to reach 110 degrees in western Pennsylvania, utility crews from across the state and nearby Ohio and West Virginia scrambled to restore electrical lines that had been toppled by a series of damaging wind and rain storms earlier in the week.
At one point, more than 85,000 people were without power in the area. By Wednesday morning, the reported outages were reduced to about 6,700, according to Duquesne Light Company, which supplies electricity to the region.
In a statement, Duquesne urged customers without power to “consider alternate arrangements to stay cool and safe” and to “avoid opening refrigerator and freezer doors,” adding that food will stay frozen for up to 48 hours if the door remains closed.
Pittsburgh has opened several cooling centers across the city, and there are more than a dozen other sites in the suburbs. Allegheny County, which includes the Pittsburgh area, is staffing its public pools with additional lifeguards to allow the guards to take more breaks from the heat, said Abigail Gardner, a county spokeswoman.
“We want to make sure they are staying safe as well,’’ she said.
Even as repair crews continued to make progress restoring power in the area on Wednesday, Duquesne warned of possible delays and additional outages. “With the potential for more storms and heat-related issues this week, the estimated time of restoration could move into next week,” the company said.
The post Crews Rush to Restore Power in Pittsburgh as Temperatures Soar appeared first on New York Times.