Death Valley National Park is dealing with a multiday power outage amid temperatures over 120 degrees.
Temperatures in Death Valley National Park reached at least 125 degrees for nine consecutive days from July 4–12, peaking at 129.3 degrees on July 7, according to the National Park Service.
"This was the park’s second-longest streak of high temperatures at or above 125 degrees, just behind the ten-day streak measured in 1913," the park reported. The average high temperature in July is 117 degrees.
The streak broke on Saturday, July 13, but a thunderstorm that day triggered a power outage at around 4:45 p.m.
Park officials said the issue is on a power line from a Southern California Edison (SCE) substation leading to the Furnace Creek Visitor Center, National Park Service offices, and employee housing.
The large thermometer display outside the Furnace Creek Visitor Center, which stopped working while displaying a false reading of 667 degrees Fahrenheit. According to park staff, the thermometer was resetting itself after a "power bump" when the power cut out.
SCE provided a "large" generator to supply power to the Furnace Creek Visitor Center, which reopened Monday.
Park offices and employee housing are still without power, however. Affected "employees, families, and pets" evacuated to nearby hotels.
Visitors were only affected by the closure at the visitor center, as hotels, restaurants and gas stations within the park did not lose power.
Park officials are encouraging visitors to stay safe in the heat "by not hiking at low elevations after 10 am, staying within a short walk of air conditioning, drinking plenty of water, and eating salty snacks."
With TMX
