Day of Records, Night of Relief

"We hope it shows that we're making progress," she said. "We've had perfect conditions for high-ozone episodes, so perhaps some of our measures are taking effect."

Another pleasant surprise as the heat wave crested: Area hospitals have not been inundated with heat-related medical problems this week. Officials at numerous facilities said that emergency department visits had not spiked and that admissions were few.

"They've seen less than they expected," said Josh Sekine, a spokesman for Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington. He ticked off less than half a dozen cases, all of them treated and released.

Providence Hospital in Northeast Washington has been one of the exceptions, with a 10 percent rise in emergency patients and admissions. Providence serves an older, more vulnerable population with a marked degree of chronic health problems such as asthma, heart conditions and diabetes and with less access to assistance or air-conditioning.

"The lion's share of the increase . . . we're seeing are exacerbations of pre-existing conditions," spokesman Curtis McCormick said.

Cooling centers and emergency homeless shelters had more clients this week as people sought relief from the heat. The District's Emergency Management Agency reported that its cooling centers had served more than 5,000 people this week. Homeless shelters in Prince William and Montgomery counties also reported increases in the number of walk-ins.

Sharan London, executive director of the Montgomery County Coalition for the Homeless, said the group's shelter for men in Rockville had seen its population swell to about 74 residents as 14 newcomers found their way to the Gude Drive building.

"We are not usually open during the day, but we are this week," said London, adding that the group would find a way to absorb the cost of the new residents.

But at least one public facility in the District was unable to provide a cool place for residents to sleep. Despite pressure from Ward 8 council member Marion Barry to resolve the problem immediately, most residents of the Southeast Washington halfway house Hope Village remained without air conditioning last night, said Barry's chief of staff, E. Faye Williams.

Barry was not the only politician taking time out to respond to the heat. D.C. Council Chairman Linda W. Cropp (D), who is running for mayor, announced she would suspend her field campaign this weekend and have 20 to 30 staffers distribute fliers listing locations of city-operated cooling centers. Cropp, whose power went off at her home for a few hours Wednesday night, said helping residents avoid heat-related problems was more important than campaigning.

Staff writers Karlyn Barker, Susan Levine, David Nakamura, Michael E. Ruane, Philip Rucker, Sandhya Somashekhar and Miranda S. Spivack contributed to this report.