Thousands of residents in Joshua Tree, Landers, Yucca Valley, and Morongo Valley were without power for hours during extreme heat Thursday evening. Southern California Edison reported electrical outages in Landers at 5:24 p.m., which it attributed to lightning, and in Joshua Tree at 6:18 p.m., with the cause being a weak power line that broke. County Fire Captain Jay Dimoff said the downed power line started a small brush fire that was quickly put out. Power started being restored to some residents by 8:30 last night, while for others, power is not expected to be restored until noon today. Cooling centers are open at the Yucca Valley Community Center, the Hi-Desert Nature Museum, or cool off at local stores.
