Death Valley hits 125 degrees 9 days straight followed by power outage

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — After reaching 125 degrees for nine consecutive days, parts of Death Valley National Park are experiencing a multi-day power outage, according to the National Park Service.

From July 4 to July 12, Death Valley reached 125 degrees, followed by a thunderstorm that triggered a power outage around 4:45 p.m. on Saturday, July 13. NPS said the issue comes from a powerline from a Southern California Edison (SCE) substation leading to Furnace Creek Visitor Center, National Park Service (NPS) offices, and employee housing.

SCE supplied Death Valley with a large generator and Furnace Creek Visitor Center reopened on Monday morning. NPS housing and offices still do not have power and the affected employees, families, and pets have evacuated to nearby hotels, NPS said.

Visitors were only affected by the Visitor Center closure as hotels, restaurants, and gas stations in the park did not lose power.

Death Valley’s average high temperature in July is 117 degrees however, the recent heat wave set three daily heat records and peaked at 129.3 degrees on July 7, according to NPS. This was the park’s second-longest streak of high temperatures at or above 125 degrees, just behind the 10-day streak measured in 1913.

NPS encourages park visitors to stay safe in the summer by not hiking at low elevations after 10 a.m., staying within a short walk of air conditioning, drinking plenty of water, and eating salty snacks.

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