The record-breaking heat wave sweeping through Southern California will continue through the weekend, delivering a miserable mix of triple-digit highs and unrelenting overnight heat.
The National Weather Service in Oxnard said Saturday morning that “dangerously hot conditions” will continue in the region through Monday. Temperatures on Saturday were expected to be 2 to 10 degrees cooler than Friday’s record-breaking heat, forecasters said, but would still be 15 to 25 degrees above normal.
There is light at the end of the tunnel: much cooler temperatures are expected on Tuesday or Wednesday and are expected to last until the end of next week.
“This is the most significant heat wave we’ve had in the metro area in several years,” said John Dumas, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard. “We’re looking at a significant cool-down on Tuesday.”
Friday's temperatures broke five records in Los Angeles and Orange counties set in the summer of 2020. A reading of 102 at Los Angeles International Airport broke the 2020 record of 99 degrees, and 109 degrees at Long Beach Airport surpassed the 2020 record of 104.
Dumas said some cloudiness on Saturday will help keep temperatures down, but cloudy conditions overnight will keep the region from cooling down.
“It’s been so hot for so many days that things are starting to feel warmer,” Dumas said.
As temperatures neared 100 degrees in downtown Los Angeles on Saturday, children were having fun at the Gloria Molina Grand Park water park.
“It's intolerable,” said Elaine Lagunas of Covina, a teacher who said the heat had caused her 6-year-old daughter to complain of stomach pain a few days earlier.
Her students have been more restless than usual because their classrooms are not well equipped to deal with 100-degree afternoons, she said.
Saturday brought humidity and heat. Thunderstorms were forecast for the afternoon in parts of the San Gabriel Mountains, Dumas said. But, he said, the stifling heat meant rain could evaporate before it hit the ground, producing a phenomenon known as “dry lightning,” a wildfire risk.
The National Weather Service has issued a red flag warning for all mountain and hill areas until 8 p.m.
Five hundred firefighters were using handlines, hoses and fixed-wing aircraft to battle a wildfire burning in San Bernardino County. The blaze, which was 0% contained, started Thursday night and grew in size overnight as temperatures climbed to 110 degrees.
As of Saturday afternoon, the fire had burned about 3,800 acres in the town of Highland, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said. The agency warned that during another day of triple-digit temperatures, the blaze could grow in size again and spread into the foothills to the northeast.
The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department issued an evacuation order at 9:30 a.m. Saturday for area neighborhoods.
The extreme heat also left thousands of homes without power across Southern California.
Southern California Edison said up to 8,600 homes in Los Angeles County and nearly 1,600 in San Bernardino County were without power Saturday.
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power also reported outages affecting thousands of homes in the eastern and northern fringes of its coverage area Saturday morning, including in Silver Lake, Exposition Park, University Park, Mission Hills, Sylmar, Pacoima and Arleta.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said LADWP was working around the clock with additional staff to repair equipment and restore power. More than 7,000 LADWP customers were without power as of midday Saturday, the city said.
Los Angeles libraries and parks are open for people who need a respite from the heat, Bass said. The city also has a half-dozen “enhanced cooling centers,” which offer charging and refrigeration stations for medications.
“We will continue to urgently provide resources to Angelenos across Los Angeles to combat the heat,” Bass said.
On Saturday afternoon in Torrance, traffic was slowed to a crawl on Hawthorne Boulevard and Carson Street, where traffic lights had gone out. Power was also out in parts of the Del Amo mall, including the Macy's department store.
The California Independent System Operator, which manages the state's power grid, said there was enough power across the state to meet demand.
Marcos Gutierrez, 47, sought shelter from the heat under a tree in Elysian Park with his brother on Saturday afternoon.
Gutierrez tries to avoid turning on the air conditioning in his apartment near downtown Los Angeles. He spent about $250 cooling the place in July and $350 in August, he said, and is nervous about this month's bill.
At his job lifting pallets in a warehouse, he tries not to stray too far from portable fans, he said.
Jose and Angela Suarez also try not to turn on the air conditioning in their Long Beach home.
Angela Suarez said the cost of cooling her home has nearly doubled this summer. If the temperature outside is below 80 degrees, she said, they leave the air conditioning off.
This summer, the Suarezes have been leaving the house less because of the heat. On Saturday, they made an exception to attend a particularly hot R&B concert in downtown Los Angeles.
And when they get home, they'll turn on the air conditioning.
“On a day like this you have to assume the expense,” said Angela Suarez, 37, waving a patterned fan.
