The Daily Spectrum from Saint George, Utah • 8

FROM THE FRONT PAGE A8 Sunday, July 17. 2005 The Spectrum High temperatures increase demand for power Power-Saving Tips If possible, open windows at night to bring in the cool air. Close the windows in the morning and keep blinds closed on windows facing the south, west and east. Use the microwave and outdoor grills for cooking whenever possible. Turn off lights when not in use.

sory from the National Weather Service until 9 p.m. today. The triple-digit heat is expected to continue for at least the next week During the power outage, which lasted about two hours in most areas, local pow er agencies and police were flooded with calls. Hurricane Mayor Tom Hirschi was busy helping answering telephones at the power department, and in St. George during the outage, the police department logged more than 1.000 curiosity calls.

"If the power goes out, the worse thing people can do is call police spokesman Craig Harding said. Here are some tips to conserve electricity. Other energy saving tips may be found on the Utah Power and Light Web site at wvm.utahpower.net. 4 Use appliances that heat up the house and use electricity dryers, dishwashers and stoves in the evening or morning hours when the demand for electricity is not at its peak. Keep air conditioners set at 78 degrees or above.

OUTAGE Continued from XI Kit power crews would not be allowed into the fire area until conditions were safe to do so. Usage may not have caused the outage Saturday, but ith the temperatures in the triple digits, the demand for electricity has been extremely high. Hymas said a record for usage was set on Tuesday and broken on Wednesday. The high temperature in the St. George area on Saturday as 112 degrees, with the same forecast for today, prompting a heat advi tensen said.

Jeff Hymas, spokesman for Utah Power and Light, said Saturday that Tuesday of last week set a new peak record, only to be broken the following day. 'Temperatures are what's dri servation efforts may prevent overloads on transmission lines that Jead to power outages and rtfbwnouls. "People don't think that individual efforts make a difference, tjiT they do," Hyrnas said. -4 I vS Meg Cady The Spectrum Harry Potter fans crowded into Braun Book on Friday night to celebrate the release of the sixth Harry Potter book. From left, Chris Morten, Adam Cook, Jacob Cook and Ron Baker show off their Potter attire.

ving that," Hymas said. "The two peak times on those two days were at 3 p.m. and 5 p.m." Since the triple-digit weather is expected for the next week, power customers are being asked to conserve whenever possible. Con faced problems Manager Bryce Gubler said in addiuon to the store losing money, Saturday is the day that the store's payroll for the week enters the computer, and because of the power outage, that didn't happen. "Saturday is a crucial day for us.

We are closed on Sundays, and with the computers down we can't close out the books for the week," Gubler said. Power had returned to most of Washington City by 6 p.m. Other customers flooded Home Depot in Washington City to buy generators. The Dammeron Fire is burning to the northeast, away from homes and into the Dixie National Forest Three helicopters and three single-engine air tankers worked throughout Saturday, and fire officials report that the Dammeron Fire was 5 percent contained Saturday. Management air Rachel Tueiler The Spectrum stage themselves as a single-engine tanker flies overhead Saturday.

Fire crews from Dammeron and Diamond Valley fire departments and Bureau of Land POTTER Continued from 1 A fan herself, Waggoner said she enjoys the books'. "I love listening to them on tape," she said, which helped her to make the drive from St. George to Florida. The Leavitt family shares Waggoner's enthusiasm as well. Having three sons, Mike and Sara Leavitt were the first to read the series.

After falling into the Potter fan club, they introduced their sons, Andrew, 7, Ethan, 4, and Ben, 2, to the wizard's realm. "We've read all the books together," Mike said. Andrew, the biggest fan of three, said he didn't know why he likes Harry Potter, but "it's just The Wal-Mart SuperCenter in Washington City was closed for nearly two hours. Store Manager Kurt Harbin said the customers who were in the store at the time of the outage were able to check out, but no new customers were able to enter until about 5:30 p.m. However, by 5:45 p.m.

the store was filling up once again, and Harbin appeared assured that business would continue as usual. "That's life," he said. However, Discount Tire Co. across the street in Washington City did not recover as quickly. While the power was out, numerous customers were left without transportation.

The store, which normally closes at 5 p.m., stayed open until almost 6 p.m. in hopes of getting the tires on the vehicles so customers could go home. Though the inconvenience to the customers was large, the staff also By PATRICE ST. GERMAIN patricesthespectrum.com ST. GEORGE While the power has been restored to Washington County, continued high temperatures are expected to keep the demand for electricity at high levels.

Marc Mortensen, assistant to the St. George city manager, said although power was restored by reRxiting power through another switchyard, residents should conserve electricity whenever possible. "We are going to have to stay on that line until the other line is fixed and it can carry the load, but people should conserve," Mor- FIRE Continued frornAl northwest smoke filled the valley right after the lightning strike." While he couldn't see the location of the fire through the thick smoke, Rice later learned the fire, at its closest point to structures, had come within three-quarters of a mile from his home. While residents of Dammeron felt a reprieve Saturday, most like the Easterlings spent a restless night Friday watching the flames. "From out our living room window, we could see flames," Easterling said.

"My wife and I looked out at the fire through the night. Most of our neighbors did the same thing." Rice, who owns 20 acres in Dammeron Valley, attributed this year's fires to the abundance of winter precipitation. "I've never seen dry weeds like this in 25 years we've been here," said Rice. Easterling noted that while the community's residents were relieved after Saturday's fire-fighting efforts quelled the flames closest to homes and structures, many were still watching and waiting, hoping winds wouldn't shift. The Dammeron Fire also caused others plenty of grief as they were without power and the opportunity to shop in several stores on Saturday.

The fire burned several power poles and caused temporary outages across Washington County. Charter Digital The Smith Mesa Three Fire, six miles north of Virgin, has burned 450 acres and is 80 percent contained. Two uninhabited trailers and an uninhabited cabin were lost in the fire. The blaze burned within a mile of five other cabins, but those structures are no longer in immediate danger. Color Country firefighters have worked 1 1 fires that started from Friday's lightning, with an added 17 fires that started in southwestern Utah from lightning Friday and Saturday afternoon.

Most of these fires have consumed less than 25 acres. The Frisco Fire, 60 miles northwest of Cedar City on Frisco Peak, has burned 1,000 acres. The fire was not threatening any structures or other property Saturday. The Spectrum reporters Rachel Tueiler and Stephanie Coots contributed to this report. nmm tTONO amKiNa UNOIMI i rsire wees SUSIMCSS riNWCIAt Kevrcss 1 TOTAL MERRILL" if! IN ST.

GEORGE, MERRILL LYNCH CAN HELP YOU MAKE YOUR MONEY WORK HARDER BY WORKING TOGETHER. Dressed as their favorite character, Harry Potter, all three urged their parents to read the entire book to them that night. In Cedar City, Kip Howard and Braun Books owner Tyler Braun tested the crowd's Harry Potter knowledge while waiting for the midnight book release. Fans Chris Morten, Adam Cook, Jacob Cook and Ron Baker joined the festivities in costume, complete with "magic" wands to sell. Morgan Jensen, 7, dressed up as.

Hermione Granger for the Potter party and said she was excited for the sixth book. The store gave a free copy of "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" to the fan with the best costume. The Spectrum Daily News reporter Meg Cady contributed to this report. mm l-888-GET-CHARTER www.charter.com i How do you see your financial life? Your investments are there. Your retirement here.

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