Power Outages, Heat Slam Palm Springs

The soaring temperatures combined with several power outages throughout the Coachella Valley left some people sizzling in the sun Thursday while crews worked to turn the power back on.

See’s Candy on Palm Canyon Drive lost power early in the afternoon.

Employees rushed to get their products into a cooler truck parked in the lot before all of it melted away.

The manager says he didn’t want to take any chances, because the last time there was an outage, the store lost $100,000 worth of inventory.

Power was restored just after 6 p.m., and luckily, See’s avoided major damage.

While Southern California Edison crews worked on the power lines above the streets, traffic lights were out of order, and at times, traffic was stop and go.

“I brought the generator over here. We turned it on. We have lights in our kitchen area, so we can clean and get things ready and keep the computers going and keep some of our refrigeration going, and there’s really nothing you can do,” said Sam Harris, the owner of Sherman’s Deli and Bakery, which closed down after lunch time because it lost power.

Across the street, the Hilton and the Spa Resort Casino also lost electricity.

Power was restored to all three at around 4 p.m., but by that time, for the Sunshine Nail Salon, the damage had already been done.

“I had to cancel all my appointments, because we can’t do without electricity,” said Triss Pham, who works at the salon.

“It’s a little warm, but that’s OK,” said Betty Exendine, who was visiting the Spa Resort Casino. “We’re desert people, so we can take the heat.”

But apparently not everyone.

Earlier in the morning, a man called police saying his wife fell and hit her head while hiking on the Mount San Jacinto Trail above the Palm Springs Art Museum.

The woman was exhausted from the heat.

She was rescued by the Palm Springs Fire Department 500 feet above the museum and taken to Desert Regional Medical Center.

“We have these trails that become very popular, especially on the weekends,” said Jon Merriam, a battalion chief with Palm Springs Fire. “(There are) many hikers and unfortunately a lot them forget to bring the things they need for hiking.”

Authorities say the woman will be OK.

As for the outages, the cause is still unclear.