Powerful heat wave in US Northwest hits infrastructure

Scorching heat has hobbled highways and streetcar wires, suspending services, while some utilities have warned of outages.

The rare and powerful heat wave shattering records across the U.S. Northwest is taking a bruising toll on the region’s infrastructure, buckling highways, hobbling public transit and triggering rolling power outages. Avista Corp. — which serves nearly 340,000 customers in eastern Washington, Idaho and Oregon — instituted rolling outages for the first time in company history as temperatures soared. The periodic blackouts had impacted about 4,667 customers as of late Tuesday, with a total of 21,000 warned that they could face disruptions, the company said. Heat also warped Seattle highways and scorched Portland’s streetcar wires, suspending service. The breakdowns amid the worst recorded heat wave in Pacific Northwest history are the latest sign that unprecedented challenges loom this summer. Heat, drought and wildfires tied to climate change have authorities on edge as they try to keep the power on and avoid more heat-related deaths that claim about 650 U.S. lives annually. President Joe Biden will meet governors of Western states Wednesday to discuss how to address wildfire threats.