As dangerous heat settles over Central NC people look for ways to stay cool

DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) -- Dangerous heat continued to grip Durham on Thursday as residents across the Bull City coped with rising temperatures following a fallen tree that knocked out power to thousands of people in Durham on Wednesday.

Rick Owen, who lost power for nine hours, said the outage was especially difficult given his health concerns.

"It's miserable," Owen said. "I've had heart conditions. So we're more cautious about that."

He said he is grateful power has been restored in the Hope Valley community and hopes to spend the holiday weekend somewhere cooler.

"Just get out of town, go up to the mountains, try and find running water," he said. "Get in the creek."

For extreme heat precautions, the timing was particularly tough for Tanner Agle, whose family had just moved into a new home with their infant when the electricity went out.

"Within about 30 seconds you could feel that humidity set in," Agle said. "You could see the temperature rising."

He said they spent much of Wednesday in cooler places while crews worked to restore service - a reminder, he noted, that experts recommend staying indoors, drinking plenty of water and limiting time outside during extreme heat.

"I grew up in North Carolina, but I don't remember waves being quite this intense," Agle said. "Not optimal to be on 4th of July weekend when so many people want to be outside celebrating."

Shane Ryan said he is especially thankful for air-conditioning - and for HVAC technicians working overtime to keep systems running in Durham.

"I was out of town, and our HVAC went down," Ryan said. "Of course, it's the summer, so it's the worst possible time it could have happened ... he fixed our air conditioning and basically saved us from having to stay in the hotel."

Ryan said the technician completed the repair this summer despite pouring rain. After one night in a hotel, his family is back home and staying cool.

"The AC being fixed is a big deal," he said. "We're staying indoors a lot. But our kids have sports practice and so we hydrate ... sunscreen ... liquid IV sometimes, just anything we can think of."

As the region heads into the holiday weekend, residents continue adapting to the prolonged heat, relying on restored power, repaired cooling systems and precautions to stay safe.

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