Fourth day of triple digits send crowds to L.A. pools, beaches
Slight cooling isn't expected until Tuesday. The heat may have peaked on Friday, the Weather Service says, setting some records.
Temperatures today again climbed into the triple digits -- the fourth consecutive day of a heat wave and the first official day of summer -- with slight cooling not expected until Tuesday.
The scorching temperatures, record-setting in some locations, were the result of a very large high-pressure system above the Los Angeles area and a very weak offshore wind, said Bonnie Bartling, a weather specialist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard. Those factors combined this week to trap heat in much of the inland and valley areas, Bartling said, giving people no respite at night as temperatures stayed high. An excessive heat warning remains in effect for Southern California.
The mercury hovered at 106 degrees in Simi Valley at 12:45 p.m., according to the National Weather Service, alarming parents with children playing in a regional baseball tournament there this afternoon. They packed plenty of ice, water and Gatorade.
"I'm definitely concerned. Nobody wants a child passing out on the field," said Verania Garcia, 38, of Long Beach, as she drove her 11-year-old, Justin Marty, toward Simi Valley. She brought a small tent to shield her two younger children from the sun, but she worried about Justin playing in the heat in his jersey and pants, even though the coach had promised to bring plenty of cold towels.
In Los Angeles, city pools opened today for the summer, drawing residents eager for a cooling swim who didn't want to make the gas-guzzling trip to the beach. They started lining up outside the Hollywood Recreation Center an hour before the pool opened at 1 p.m.
"It's closer, and gas prices are too high," said Jose Gonzales, 35, a maintenance worker from Hollywood who walked to the pool with his son, Louis, 16, and daughter, Rosie, 9, who stood in line clutching her towel.
"When it's summer, you come to the pool and you get all excited," Rosie said.
Hordes of people headed to the beaches today, seeking relief.
"If people aren't already driving right now, they're going to have a difficult time with parking," said Section Chief Garth Canning of the Los Angeles County Fire Department's Lifeguard Division shortly after 11:30 a.m. "When you have a heat wave that's been on for several days, people are very motivated if they get a day off to come down to the coastline."
Water temperatures were in the low to mid 60s, Canning said. South-facing beaches, such as Santa Monica and Manhattan, were seeing 3- to 4-foot waves, he said.
