Death Valley is hot enough as is, without electricity, it can be downright insufferable/Patrick Cone

Ice, air-conditioning, and water fountains that spurt water are great to have in the place with the hottest recorded temperature on Earth, and so it's great to hear that Southern California Edison has moved a power generator into Death Valley National Park, which has endured four power outages this summer.

Josh Hoines, the park's chief of natural and cultural resources, said, “We are extremely grateful to SCE’s employees and contractors who have come out here and worked around the clock in the heat to restore power as quickly as possible.”

Electricity went out at Furnace Creek Visitor Center and Furnace Creek Campground on Monday afternoon. By early Tuesday morning, SCE towed in a generator to power Furnace Creek Visitor Center.

“The generator SCE provided allows park employees to continue with routine work and to provide services to the public,” said Hoines.

Furnace Creek Campground will remain closed until electricity is restored, which is needed for the sewer system to function. The nearby Furnace Creek Resort has camping available, including sites with RV hookups. Campgrounds with limited services are open in the park’s higher elevations at Emigrant, Wildrose, Thorndike, and Mahogany Flat.

Furnace Creek Resort, Stovepipe Wells Resort, and Panamint Springs Resort did not lose power during this event, which was localized to Furnace Creek Visitor Center. All hotels, restaurants, and gas stations in the park are open.

This is the fourth major electrical failure in Death Valley this summer. A lightning strike on July 1 burned three poles and disrupted power to all of Furnace Creek and Stovepipe Wells for 38 hours. That event forced the closure of park hotels and evacuation of visitors and staff due to high temperatures. A week later the power was out for about a day to finalize initial repairs from that lightning strike.

The current problem, which was isolated to a buried cable leading to a transformer near Furnace Creek Visitor Center, started at 3:30 a.m. on Sunday, August 14. SCE provided a generator for backup electricity until they were able to finish patching the line on August 17. The cable failed again around 3 p.m. on Monday, August 22.

SCE is working with the park to replace about 2,000 feet of underground cable, which is expected to take at least a week. SCE is providing backup power to Furnace Creek Visitor Center by generator until the repairs are completed.