At least two dead in sweltering Calif. heat, officials say [View All]

[Kadie]

At least two dead in sweltering Calif. heat, officials say
By JORDAN ROBERTSON, Associated Press Writer

Sunday, July 23, 2006

(07-23) 15:08 PDT San Francisco (AP) --


Sweltering heat was being blamed Sunday for at least two deaths in Northern California, including a resident at a nursing home who died after the facility's air conditioning system failed.

Triple-digit temperatures covered much of the Southwest, and in California, the power grid manager warned the state might declare an emergency for the second-straight day due to soaring electricity use.

Excessive heat warnings were in effect through parts of Southern California, where temperatures were expected to reach 99 degrees in downtown Los Angeles and 115 degrees in nearby Woodland Hills, where the mercury hit a record-setting 119 degrees Saturday.

No relief was expected until at least midweek, as weather conditions conspired to bake California's normally cool coast for the third day in a row and bring Midwest-style humidity into the usually arid Central Valley.

In Stockton, crews evacuated more than 100 patients early Sunday from the Beverly Healthcare Center after the nursing home's air conditioning gave out and two patients were hospitalized with heat-related stress, said police spokesman Pete Smith.

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