At Pat’s Senior Home, which accommodates more than 50 residents, staff placed some elderly people on the porch to escape the heat and brought in extra workers to move residents from their rooms after the power failed. Patricia Moxey, the home’s owner, said some residents became so frightened that they wet themselves, while others screamed when the lights went out. The outage began at about 1.45am and lasted seven hours or longer in some communities, leaving thousands of residents without electricity overnight. Ms Moxey said the frequency of the outages made it difficult to anticipate how much fuel would be needed. She said the home depends on the generator to keep residents comfortable but is now facing higher fuel costs.