LOS ANGELES —  Utility workers are working Wednesday to restore power amid a long and blistering heat wave, with thousands of outages being reported around the Southland.

What You Need To Know

  • As of Tuesday evening, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power was reporting outages affecting about 5,347 of its 1.5 million electricity customers, down from 6,190 earlier in the afternoon

  • Residents were also urged to conserve power during the peak afternoon and early evening hours to avoid blackouts

  • LADWP customers can check the locations and status of outages here, and SCE customers can get updates here

  • The utility also recommends using major appliances such as washing machines, vacuum cleaners and dishwashers before 4 p.m. or after 9 p.m., or not at all if possible until the heat waves passes

As of Tuesday evening, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power was reporting outages affecting about 5,347 of its 1.5 million electricity customers, down from 6,190 earlier in the afternoon.

There were 36 area outage incidents with the majority affecting small numbers of customers. Crews continue to make progress on outages lasting longer than 18 hours. There were 14 such outages affecting 424 customers. LADWP crews will continue to work on repairs throughout Tuesday evening and restore power as quickly and as safely as possible, according to the utility.

Earlier outages in San Pedro knocked out power at the Harbor Animal Care Center, one of Los Angeles' six animal shelters. Annette Ramirez, acting general manager of Los Angeles Animal Services, told the LAAS board during Tuesday's meeting that shelter staff and volunteers used ice to try to keep the shelter's many dogs, cats and rabbits cool during the power outage.

LADWP customers can check the locations and status of outages at ladwp.com/outages, and Southern California Edison customers can get updates at sce.com.

Los Angeles officials were urging DWP customers to report power outages to 800-DIAL DWP (800-342-5397) or ladwp.com/outages immediately. The DWP uses the real-time information to deploy crews to restore electricity as quickly as possible.

As of Tuesday evening, SCE reported 11 outages effecting 2,295 customers in Los Angeles County, along with three in Orange County, impacting about 157 customers. San Bernardino was dealing with the most SCE outages, likely due to the massive Line Fire, with 3,334 customers without power.

SCE customers can report an outage at sce.com.

Residents across the region were urged to conserve power during the peak afternoon and early evening hours to avoid blackouts.

"Stay safe and cool by adjusting your thermostats to 78," the DWP advised. "If you're away from your home, turn your AC systems off."

The utility also recommends using major appliances such as washing machines, vacuum cleaners, and dishwashers before 4 p.m. or after 9 p.m., or not at all if possible until the heat waves passes.