The Rescue League’s staff is working through the power outage. (Via Facebook)

Four days after a fierce and punishing thunderstorm battered the D.C. area, and some places especially sensitive to power outages are still waiting for Pepco crews to turn the lights back on. One of those places is the Washington Animal Rescue League, which has been closed since Friday night when the derecho system’s blistering winds and forked lightning bolts knocked it, and about 443,000 other Pepco customers, off the grid.

Pepco reports this morning that there are still about 123,000 customers in D.C. and Maryland still waiting to see their service restored, and the Rescue League’s Manor Park neighborhood in upper Northwest D.C. remains one of the most heavily affected pockets.

On its Facebook page over the weekend, the Rescue League put out an urgent call to its friends and supporters for ice, generators, battery-operated lights and fans and fresh linens in order to keep its current furry residents comfortable through the prolonged heat wave. According to its online registry, the Rescue League is currently housing 54 cats and 52 dogs.

So far, the donations have been generous. The shelter received more than 500 pounds of ice on the first day of the blackout, and a business in Laurel, Md. came through with a generator to power the refrigerator that keeps the animals’ medicines chilled. But the bedding is a crucial need, too. With sun waves continuing to beat down at more than 90 degrees with humidity to match, the Rescue League’s staff is taking every possible measure to keep their animals away from the heat, including shielding the building’s many windows with blankets and bedsheets.

But now the Rescue League has another pressing need: Laundry. The shelter describes its wash load as “enormous”—though that’s normal—and needs fresh supplies of sheets, blankets and towels. Most likely, it could probably also use the appliances of any supporters who still have power at home and could manage a load of laundry.

The Washington Animal Rescue League is located at 71 Oglethorpe Street NW.