Update at 5:10 p.m. — Dominion reports that 3,583 customers in Arlington are still without power.
Power in the hard-hit Fairlington neighborhood could be out until Sunday, Arlington County warned today. With temperatures reaching into the 90’s on Sunday, this could present a dangerous situation for residents who try to wait out the power outage in their homes.
Arlington advises that residents could use Central Library as a cooling shelter. Central Library is open until 5:00 today, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Sautrday, and from 1:00 to 9:00 p.m. on Sunday.
Other cool places to kill time include the Pentagon City mall, Ballston mall and the Crystal City underground. Click here for more heat safety tips from the county.
Food safety is another concern. A refridgerator can only keep food at a safe temperature for four hours during a power outage, assuming the door is not opened. One way to keep food from spoiling is to bring in blocks of ice or dry ice.
Freezers can stay cooler longer, but only 24-48 hours. Again, bringing in some sort of ice could prevent your frozen food from thawing.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has a guide for which foods to throw out and which ones to keep when the power goes out for an extended period.