MARBLEHEAD, MASS. (WHDH) - Approximately 1,000 customers lost power in Marblehead Thursday during a period of high heat in which temperatures reached nearly 100 degrees, Marblehead Municipal Light Deptartment General Manager Jon Blair announced.
Shortly before 4 p.m., Blair said customers in the Lafayette Street and Humphrey Street areas lost power. He said the outage was not solely due to heat, but it was a contributing factor.
By 8 p.m., Marblehead Municipal Light said power had been restored to approximately 500 customers.
“My mom’s in her early 70’s so it’s definitely a little dangerous for her to be home in the heat. Her house is still cool for now, but I think the plan is for her to come here for the night at least and make sure we monitor everything,” one resident said.
The company said six trucks are on site working as quickly as possible to make necessary repairs, including rebuilding 1,500 feet of damaged line to restore the circuit.
Marblehead Municipal Light said it anticipates all power will be restored before midnight.
The Town of Marblehead has opened the Brown School on Baldwin Road as an emergency cooling shelter using generator power for residents in need of a cool space.
“We have a child that has chronic kidney disease, and then weather changes are very challenging for that, and so there are a lot of people that are at risk,” said Athena Triscuit, a resident utilizing the cooling center. “I’d rather be in my house but I mean, like, there’s no air conditioning at all.”
Officials said the center will remain open until service is fully restored.
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