Sacramento, Calif.
As a prolonged heat wave gripped his state, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger this week ordered all state agencies to cut electricity use by 25 percent, and warned that rolling blackouts may be needed to protect the power grid. The relentless heat strained the aging equipment that holds California’s electricity network together, and failing transformers and cables have caused blackouts throughout the state. Some 900,000 people lost power in the San Francisco area and in parts of Los Angeles, where temperatures reached a record 119 degrees. Authorities blamed the heat for at least 53 deaths, including that of a patient in a Stockton nursing home, where the air conditioning failed as temperatures hit 115 degrees.
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