Blackouts Roil Heat-Stricken Valley

CHATSWORTH, CA — Thousands of people lost power during high temperatures overnight across the Southland, including Chatsworth residents, Los Angeles Department of Water & Power officials said Wednesday.

"Extreme heat and electricity demand has caused outages in parts of Los Angeles, currently affecting some LADWP customers," Mayor Eric Garcetti said on Twitter Tuesday night. "Crews are working hard to restore power as quickly as possible."

As of 11 a.m. Wednesday, power had been restored to all but 6,000 customers. Valley neighborhoods like Studio City, Van Nuys, and Valley Village were among the most impacted,

The utility company could not immediately be reached for more information, but KCAL9 reported that there were 9,000 heat-related outages affecting about 1.5 million customers throughout Los Angeles.

A Flex Alert urging customers across the state to conserve energy is in effect from 2 p.m. through 9 p.m. Wednesday. The California Independent System Operator, which oversees about 80 percent of the state’s power grid, said that it was able to avoid rolling blackouts Monday and Tuesday thanks to conservation efforts from customers.

LADWP's website showed outages in Baldwin Hills/Crenshaw, Beverly Grove, Boyle Heights, Brentwood, Broadway-Manchester, Carthay, Central-Alameda, Chatsworth, Cypress Park, downtown, Eagle Rock, East Hollywood, Echo Park, El Sereno, Elysian Park, Elysian Valley, Exposition Park, Green Meadows, Hancock Park, Highland Park, Historic South-Central, Hollywood, Hollywood Hills, Hollywood Hills West, Koreatown,Lake View Terrace, Larchmont, Lincoln Heights, Los Feliz, Mar Vista, Mid-City, Mid-Wilshire, North Hills, Pacific Palisades, Pacoima, Porter Ranch, Rancho Park, Reseda, San Pedro, Sherman Oaks, Silver Lake, Studio City, Sun Valley, Sylmar, Tarzana, Toluca Lake, University Park, Valley Glen, Valley Village, Van Nuys, Venice, Vermont Vista, West Hills, Westlake, Wilmington, Windsor Square and Winnetka.

The National Weather Service has issued a heat warning through 9 p.m. Wednesday, which has contributed to the blackouts, and lack of air conditioning makes heatwaves more unbearable. Highs in Northridge reached 113 Tuesday, and 107 Wednesday. Chatsworth reached 110 Tuesday, and is 105 Wednesday. Temperatures are forecasted to be in the high 90s and lower triple digits for at least the next week.

Cooling centers are available through Thursday from noon to 8 p.m. at the following locations in the city of Los Angeles:

—Sherman Oaks East Valley Adult Center, 5056 Van Nuys Blvd., 818-386-9674;

—Slauson Multipurpose Center, 5306 S. Compton Ave., 323-233-1174 or

323-846-5392;

— Canoga Park Senior Citizen Center, 7326 Jordan Ave., 818-340-2633;

— Pecan Recreation Center, 145 S. Pecan St., 323-262-2736;

— Lafayette Multipurpose Community Center, 625 S. Lafayette Park

Place, 213-384-0562;

—Ritchie Valens Recreation Center, 10736 Laurel Canyon Blvd., 818-

834-5172.

—City News Service, and Patch Editors Michael Wittner and Nicole Charky contributed to this report.