( CNN ) -- Monday , it was the pool . Tuesday , Myra Murray took her family to a recreation center . `` We 've just been going from place to place with the kids , just trying to give them some way to cool down ... and now to eat , '' Murray told CNN affiliate WJLA-TV . She spoke at one of the six sites District of Columbia Mayor Vincent Gray opened to distribute boxed lunches to residents , many of whom lost the means to prepare meals and saw refrigerated items spoil . As temperatures sizzle , fireworks are even more risky . Some of the millions without power after deadly heat-driven storms struck the area Friday flocked to malls , libraries , pools and most any other public place with electricity to seek relief from a massive heat wave blanketing much of the nation . As of Tuesday evening , about 1.2 million customers scattered across 11 states , from Indiana to Delaware , had no electricity , down from about 1.8 million overnight -- and a peak of 4 million on Friday night and Saturday , just after the storms hit . A household is considered one customer , so the actual number of people without power is higher . The total included some 326,000 in West Virginia , 291,000 in Ohio and roughly 223,000 in Virginia , along with about 96,000 in metropolitan Washington , D.C. Utility and government authorities said some residents may not get electricity back until the end of the week . `` This has been quite an ordeal , '' Mayor Gray told HLN 's `` Evening Express , '' stressing the need for greater responsibility on the part of the local power company . `` We need a game change . We need to speak not so much about how quickly we restore power , but how do we reduce the likelihood of this happening again in the future , '' he said . Extreme heat warnings were issued Tuesday for portion of Illinois , Indiana , Missouri , Kentucky , Ohio and Michigan , with the National Weather Service saying that those areas would be scorched with temperatures near or above triple digits . Heat advisory warnings were in place for a handful of states , including parts of Nebraska , South Dakota , Wisconsin , Minnesota and Iowa . Cities and towns in the Midwest , Mid-Atlantic and Southeast have already endured temperatures in the high 90s and above 100 degrees since , in some cases , the middle of last week . It 's all part of a system tied to the breaking or tying of more than 2,238 hot weather records nationwide between June 25 and Sunday , according to the National Climatic Data Center . Triple-digit strategies for staying healthy . Frustrations were mounting for many . Residents of Boone County , West Virginia , said Monday their region was among the hardest-hit , telling CNN affiliate WSAZ-TV they 're not getting help . `` We have a pool and we have a generator , but a lot of these people have nothing , '' said Stacy Peters of the Prenter community . `` It makes you want to sit down and cry . '' She said , `` I know they have a job to do and ( power lines ) are down everywhere , but you know what ? Send somebody down here to check on us . Or set a cooling center up here for us or see if we need water . '' The nearby community of Wharton set up a cooling center but said water and ice are in short supply . `` Ever since Saturday , we 've had people -- 40 , 50 , 60 people -- waiting to get some relief and it 's just not coming , '' said Carlos Jarvis of Wharton . `` People are in dire straits , really . '' About 20 roads were closed in West Virginia on Tuesday , down from a high of about 70 on Monday , said Terrance Lively , spokesman for the state 's Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management . Just after the storm on Saturday , some 680,000 customers were without power , he said . Some 100 major transition lines went down during the storm , he said , but did not know how many were still down Tuesday . `` This is the worst outage we 've ever had , '' said Jeri Matheny , spokeswoman for Appalachian Power , which serves most of southern West Virginia . She said it 's hoped power would be restored to all customers by midnight Sunday . Crews from 11 states were helping restoration efforts , she said . `` We 'll end up rebuilding large pieces of an infrastructure system in five to seven days that took decades to build , '' and crews are working in 16-hour shifts , said Scott Surgeoner , spokesman for FirstEnergy Corp. , which covers the state 's northern half . He said the company hopes the `` bulk '' of the 125,000 customers lacking power will be restored by Wednesday night , but some outages will stretch into the weekend . At least 17 people were killed from Ohio to New Jersey in the derecho , a massive storm packing straight-line wind damage , while another three in North Carolina died in a second round of storms Sunday . Virginia Gov . Bob McDonnell said Tuesday the number of storm deaths in his state had risen from 10 to 11 . Photos : Storm damage in Washington , D.C. Ken Mallette , executive director of the Maryland Emergency Management Agency , compared the damage to that seen after Hurricane Irene last year . `` We got a hurricane punch without a hurricane warning , '' he told CNN on Tuesday . His agency is most concerned with 36 critical care facilities , such as nursing homes , that were operating on generator power , he said . The Pepco power company , which serves the D.C. metro area , drew criticism from many for its response time , but Mallette said , `` We 're not going to sit here and rate Pepco or any other utility . ... That is one thing that will be dealt with in an after-action issue . '' For now , he said , `` we 're not going to be happy until we have every Marylander back online . ... We have zero tolerance . We want that power back on yesterday . '' July Fourth celebrations were canceled in several Maryland locales , including Kensington , Germantown , Rockville and Gaithersburg , officials said . Bone-dry and hot conditions forced fireworks cancellations in other areas . Traffic lights remain out in many hard-hit locales , including around the nation 's capital , yet another reason for headaches . `` A lot of detours , a lot of lights that are out ( and ) some that are spotty , '' said Larry Simmons , a frustrated commuter in southern Maryland . `` A lot of congestion , a lot of discourteous drivers . '' Gadgets to help you survive a power outage . CNN 's Brian Todd , Ashley Hayes and Devon Sayers contributed to this report .
NEW : ` ` We need a game change , '' says District of Columbia mayor . Number of customers without power falls to 1.2 million . Death ##s from heat - wave storms rises to 20 . Washington sets up new distribution centers .