Shelters Are Busy as Nights Turn Cold : Weather: The homeless seek refuge as temperatures dip to 40s. Gas company gets a flurry of service calls.

Hundreds of people have filled National Guard armories and emergency shelters in Orange County this week, with a cold snap sending overnight temperatures into the low 40s.

“I wouldn’t have wanted to be out there last night,” said Suzanne Shaw, who supervises Laguna Beach’s cold weather shelter, which provided blankets and sleeping mats for nine people Sunday night. “The winds were really blasting.”

Nightly low temperatures across Orange County are forecast to remain in the low to mid-40s at least through tonight, according to WeatherData Inc. Days, however, should warm up considerably, with temperatures reaching the middle to upper 60s.

“We’ve had a couple storms come through which cooled things down quite a bit,” said Dean Jones, a meteorologist with WeatherData, which provides forecasts to The Times.

Sunday’s low temperature of 43 degrees marked one of the coldest days this year in Orange County. This year’s lowest was 40 degrees, which occurred on Jan. 18 and March 25.

Two National Guard armories, which opened only last Wednesday, had capacity crowds of 250 homeless people Sunday night and somewhat smaller crowds Monday night. Both the Santa Ana and Fullerton armories offer hot meals, clothing, blankets and a safe place to sleep, armory Sgt. Glenn Henry said.

The cold weather program lasts through March, Henry said. Last year, the two armories sheltered 20,721 people.

The cold snap also spurred a flurry of calls to the Southern California Gas Co., backing up phone lines and taxing gas company work crews. Most customers called requesting service for furnace pilot lights or repair of broken appliances, according to gas company spokesman Mike Mizrahi.

“We try to warn our customers to have them turn on the pilots before the cold weather hits,” he said. “That doesn’t always happen, though.”

For faster service, Mizrahi recommended that customers call the gas company before 8 a.m. or after 6 p.m. The lines are open 24 hours.

“We really encourage customers to keep their pilot lights lit all year round,” he said. “The amount of gas you save by shutting it off is minimal, but the hassle is maximum.”

In colder weather, the gas company recommends that customers close drapes at night to retain heat and open them during the day to let it in. Other heat-saving tips include cleaning or replacing air filters and making sure furniture isn’t blocking vents.