Crews race to restore power in St. Louis

ST. LOUIS -- Utility workers raced to restore electricity Thursday after storms knocked out power to nearly half a million St. Louis-area households and businesses in the middle of a heat wave that has killed at least 20 people across the country.

"We can't overemphasize the danger of this heat," Mayor Francis Slay said. "The longer the heat goes on and the power is out, the riskier it is."

Police used public-address speakers from their squad cars to announce locations of the community centers and other places designated as cooling centers. Volunteers went door to door, checking on people with no power to run fans or air conditioners.

Utility workers urged customers to find a cool place to stay. They warned that power could be out in some areas for three to five days.

The day's high was 97 degrees, but the humidity made it feel like 111. The region could get some relief today, when the high was expected to drop to the mid-80s.

The storms tore through the city a day earlier, ripping off a section of airport roof and dumping it on a highway. Windows were blown out of a hotel restaurant and a press box at baseball's Busch Stadium. At least three buildings collapsed, and more than 30 people were injured.

"I've never seen this many people without power, this much debris, buildings collapsed, lines down," the mayor said.

By Thursday evening, power had been restored to 160,000 customers, but new reports of outages kept coming in.

Utility company AmerenUE said it would restore power to hospitals, nursing homes, water-treatment plants and other "critical facilities" first.

"If you're out of power, go to family, a friend or a cooling shelter," vice president Richard Mark said. "Take whatever means necessary, but stay out of your home."

City Health Director William Kincaid cautioned that the city's older housing, much of it made of red brick, can heat up like furnaces in the summer heat.

John Swapshire, 39, grabbed the next-to-last window fan at a hardware store for $14.99. The electricity at his home was out, but he had a gas-powered generator.

"I had to go to six stores to get this. They were either closed because of the electricity or sold out," Swapshire said. "I don't think you can buy a cube of ice in all of St. Louis, either."

Stanley Shelton, 53, found a cool spot under a tree in a downtown park where piles of broken limbs and branches covered the grass.

"I've never experienced anything like this. I don't know anyone with power," Shelton said. "I'll just sit in my yard with a big jug of water and wait for it to pass. Maybe I'll take a couple cold showers. That works too."