LOS ANGELES, Sept. 3 Record temperatures, scattered fires and power outages marked Labor Day weekend for residents of Southern California.
With temperatures in the triple digits, high demands for power knocked out transformers in Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley leaving thousands of homes without power, The Los Angeles Times reported Monday.
More than 20,000 customers of Southern California Edison were still without power Sunday night as crews labored to get the lights back on.
"What we need is a break in the weather to slow the pace in calls," said Edison spokesman Steven Conroy.
While most of the power outages were attributed to overload, some equipment was damaged by lightning and a small tornado.
At the same time, firefighters battled weekend blazes in the Angeles and San Bernardino national forests.
The biggest fire in the Angeles National Forest consumed 350 acres and remained out of control Sunday. It may have been caused by lightning, officials said.
Copyright 2007 by UPI
