Heatwave keeps Southern California humming for a few more days

Southern California’s record-breaking heat wave will last through the weekend, bringing an unbearable combination of triple-digit highs and relentless heat at night.

The National Weather Service in Oxnard said Saturday morning that “dangerously hot conditions” will continue in the region through Monday. Temperatures on Saturday are expected to be 2 to 10 degrees below Friday’s record heat, meteorologists said, but still 15 to 25 degrees above normal. They will rise again on Sunday.

“This is the worst heat wave we’ve had in the metropolitan area in several years,” said John Dumas, another meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard.

There is light at the end of the tunnel: Much cooler temperatures are expected on Tuesday and will last through the end of next week. An area of ​​low pressure aloft will move into the region, bringing more cool sea breezes ashore, said Joe Sirard, another meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard.

Temperatures Friday in Los Angeles and Orange counties surpassed five daily records set in the summer of 2020. A reading of 102 degrees at Los Angeles International Airport beat the 2020 record of 99 degrees, and 109 degrees at Long Beach Airport beat the 2020 record of 104 degrees. A temperature of 114 degrees at Burbank Airport marked a historic high since the weather service began keeping weather records in 1939.

Daily records were set Saturday: temperatures of 101 degrees at Long Beach Airport, 111 degrees in Woodland Hills and 95 degrees in Camarillo. Elsewhere in Southern California, light clouds helped keep temperatures down Saturday, Dumas said, but overcast clouds at night will prevent the region from cooling and temperatures will rise again Sunday.

“Be vigilant,” Sirard said. “Avoid the heat and drink plenty of fluids. Go to the theater or the mall, get an ice cream. Walking is too dangerous.”

As temperatures reached nearly 100 degrees in downtown Los Angeles on Saturday, children splashed around the water playground at Gloria Molina Grand Park.

“It’s unbearable,” said Elaine Lagunas, a teacher from Covina. Her six-year-old daughter had complained of stomach pains a few days earlier because of the heat.

She said that it can get hot at her school, with teachers dealing with temperatures of 38 degrees in the afternoon, but she pointed out that her school has air conditioning that has worked throughout the heatwave.

Saturday brought both heat and humidity. Some showers hit the eastern San Gabriel Mountains and eastern Antelope Valley Mountains, but there were no thunderstorms as forecast. Thunderstorms brought lightning, thunder and heavy rain across the mountains in San Bernardino, Riverside and San Diego counties. As of 6:30 p.m. Saturday, 282 lightning strikes were recorded in Highland and Big Bear, while 3,337 more lightning strikes remained in the clouds, the National Weather Service in San Diego reported.

The Line Fire jumps Highway 330 on Saturday as an emergency vehicle travels near Running Springs, California.

(Eric Thayer/Associated Press)

Meteorologists said downdrafts surrounding the thunderstorms may have exacerbated an uncontrolled wildfire in San Bernardino County that forced thousands of residents to evacuate the mountain communities of Running Springs, Arrowbear Lake and other areas. Images from a live video feed posted on social media showed a long line of cars slowing down a mountain road.

The Line Fire doubled in size from 3,800 acres in the town of Highland early Saturday to 7,122 acres by evening as it spread northeast toward Running Springs and Arrowbear Lake. Steep terrain and lack of accessibility made it difficult for emergency crews to access some burn areas, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said in a statement.

Five hundred firefighters were deployed with small arms, hoses and fixed-wing aircraft to fight the fire, which was already 0% contained by Saturday night.

The extreme heat also left thousands of homes in Southern California without power.

Southern California Edison said up to 8,600 homes in Los Angeles County and nearly 1,600 homes in San Bernardino County were without power Saturday.

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power also reported power outages Saturday morning, affecting thousands of homes in the eastern and northern parts of its service area, including 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 extra 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 park buildings are open for people wanting to escape the heat, Bass said. The city also has half a dozen “enhanced cooling centers” that offer charging stations and refrigerators for medications.

“We will continue to provide much-needed resources to Los Angeles residents to help them escape the heat,” Bass said.

In Torrance, traffic was slow on Hawthorne Boulevard and Carson Street on Saturday afternoon because the traffic lights were 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 is enough electricity statewide to meet demand.

Marcos Gutieres, 47, and his brother sought shelter from the heat under a tree in Elysian Park on Saturday afternoon.

Gutieres tries not to turn on the air conditioning in his apartment near downtown LA. He spent about $250 to cool the apartment in July and $350 in August, he says, and he’s worried about this month’s bill.

At his job lifting pallets in a warehouse, he tries not to stray too far from the portable fans, he said.

Jose and Angela Suarez also try not to turn on the air conditioning at their home in Long Beach.

Angela Suarez said the cost of cooling her home has nearly doubled this summer. When it’s below 80 degrees outside, they turn off the air conditioning, she said.

Because of the heat, the Suarezes have been leaving their home less often this summer. On Saturday, they made an exception for a particularly sweaty R&B concert in downtown Los Angeles.

And when they get home, they turn on the air conditioning.

“On a day like this, you have to bear the costs,” said Angela Suarez, 37, waving a patterned fan.

Times writer Teresa Watanabe contributed to this report.