Excessive Heat Makes Working Outdoors Unbearable

BALTIMORE (WJZ)—Those working to get the power on for the last of the storm victims will endure blast furnace temperatures Friday.

Mike Schuh has more on staying safe in these dangerous conditions and the latest on power restoration.

The sun is not your friend.

Just ask Shawn Krause.

"I'm miserable," he said.

He's hurling bags of concrete, sand, buckets of water and rocks.

He's in for a long, hot day.

"I just try not to think about it. Keep going. Try to get yourself at a little pace. Pace yourself," Krause said.

In West Baltimore, emergency workers get Carlton Davis to the hospital. He was overcome by the heat.

"I had heat stroke. I didn't know which way was which," said Davis, of West Baltimore.

The city distributed ice and water to areas still without power.

You could smell the path of the storm in Ruxton. Power was restored, and then Thursday night's wind crossed up some lines and now it's off again.

Crews from Philadelphia are sorting out the mess.

BGE says recent big outages will get priority, but if it's a small break, it's first come,  first served.

"Priority goes to the customers who have been out the longest. So if you've been out of power for several days, you're at the top of our priority list," said Rachael Lightly, BGE.

Back at that job site in Homeland, Krause may be miserable, but he keeps reminding himself why he's working in 100 degree heat.

"Well, it's better than sitting at home not making any money," Krause said. "That's pretty much what motivates me. That and a girlfriend at home, little one on the way, so that keeps me motivated as well."

He says he's thankful his job is in the shade and he has plenty of water and Gatorade to help keep himself upright.

Linemen we spoke to say they're getting to four or five jobs per day, so it looks like these jobs are going to go well into the weekend.

BGE says they won't release their out-of-town crews until all the jobs are complete.