Heat records shattered around Bay Area as power providers struggle to avoid blackouts

A HEAT WAVE that blanketed Northern California over Labor Day weekend and into this week sent temperatures soaring along with the tempers of Bay Area residents forced to cope with the threat of rolling blackouts and calls to conserve electricity.

Late Wednesday, more than 525,000 PG&E customers across the region waited anxiously to find out if they would have their power interrupted as the utility worked to keep up with soaring demand.