A Covina neighborhood suffered in the heat with no electricity to use air-conditioning or fans for 17 hours. Their power went out around 9:45 p.m. Thursday and was restored late Friday.
Southern California Edison said a problem in an underground vault knocked out power to dozens of homes. The situation is not only a nuisance, but it can be dangerous in triple-digit weather.
For the Rodriguez family, it was big a problem because they have family members suffering from multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's and other ailments that require refrigerated medications and breathing devices.
"My dad and my mom both have sleep napia, and they need their machines, and we need electricity to run their machines at night so they can breathe. Last night was a scary night because neither of them were able to use their machines. They both woke up, thank God, but there's always that chance of them not waking up," said Emelia Rodriguez.
The Rodriguez family went to a restaurant to stay cool on Friday.
Southern California Edison said more than 600 households lost power initially, and the vast majority got their power back within 30 seconds, but 35 families remained without power for several hours on Friday.
Some tips to save power include:
- Use appliances at night
- Keep thermostats at or above 78 degrees
- Avoid daytime cooking
