Valley Continues to Cook in Record-Breaking Heat

While much of the San Fernando Valley retreated to air-conditioned rooms or headed for the beach Tuesday, the children in Lori Dietrich’s first-grade class at Liggett Elementary had no such option, as record high temperatures roasted Southern California for a third straight day.

They could only sit at their desks and sweat.

“Look at their faces,” said Dietrich, clad in a T-shirt and shorts but still sweating along with them in the non-air-conditioned room. “They can’t concentrate. I feel awful. I want to go home and go swimming.”

And home was where many people sought refuge, as the heat soared to extremes unimaginable just a week before, when the Valley seemed headed for a cooler-than-usual summer.

On Tuesday, Valley communities were among the region’s hottest. High temperatures ranged from a record-breaking 108 degrees in Burbank to 110 in Chatsworth and 111 in Van Nuys and Woodland Hills.

In some parts of the Valley, the heat forced residents inside and gave streets, parks and playgrounds the look of ghost towns. Even conventional hot weather haunts--like air-conditioned malls and chilly theaters--were shunned by those unwilling to face even a few moments of blistering heat to get to them.

“Our business is down,” said Hannu Makela, manager of the Valley’s largest movie theater complex, the 16-screen AMC in Woodland Hills. “When it’s this hot, I think people just want to get out of the Valley. Maybe they are all going to the beaches.”

Beaches did indeed report huge crowds, and water parks and swimming pools were filled with families trying to escape the heat.

“We got lucky, because this week’s field trips are to a water park and Zuma beach,” said Mac Johnston, director of child care for the North Valley YMCA, which runs summer camp programs at a dozen Valley schools. “If this was last week, we’d be at Magic Mountain today. And the kids would be baking.”

Some camps rearranged field trip schedules, adding places like the Iceoplex skating rink in North Hills, where “the ice was pretty crowded,” said employee Raj Put.

Other camps simply kept kids inside, off the baseball diamonds and tennis courts and in air-conditioned classrooms where they did arts and crafts, played checkers and chess, and watched videos.

It’s been toughest on the preschoolers, Johnston said, because they tend to get cranky and bored as the mercury rises.

“We try to give them a lot of movement and stuff to burn off that energy, but we can’t let them out in the yard for more than 10 minutes at a time,” she said. “Even then, we spray them with water to keep them cool.”

At Liggett Elementary, teachers also resorted to spritzing their students. That made lunch in the outdoor courtyard bearable but did little to bring down temperatures inside.

The school--in session year-round because of overcrowding--has air conditioning in just 17 of its 37 classrooms. On Tuesday, students and teachers alike were struggling to stay awake as indoor temperatures approached 100 degrees.

School officials tried to help kids cope by cutting the lunch period short, canceling physical education classes, barring outdoor activity and dismissing students 35 minutes early.

Still, at midday, when the sun was shining its brightest, the children in Dietrich’s sweltering classroom could do little more than lay their heads on their desks and stare blankly at the walls, as she read them a story about a frog and a toad becoming friends.

The room’s wall thermometer registered 94 degrees. Some of her students were sweating so profusely, their wet hair was plastered to their cheeks and foreheads.

Children from other classes appeared at the nurse’s office with nosebleeds and stomachaches and pounding heads. Said visiting nurse Robin Sales: “It was nonstop all morning . . . one after another.”

Some schools were luckier. Dixie Canyon Elementary in Sherman Oaks held a news conference Tuesday to show off its new air conditioning units, thanks to $46,000 raised by parents and money generated by the recent passage of the school district’s construction bond.

Classrooms there registered temperatures in the 70s, and students attending the school’s special summer programs were working on computers, writing letters and reading books--oblivious to the furnace outside.

“Since we got air conditioning, it’s such an improvement,” fifth-grader Leandro Dottavio told reporters, speaking into microphones at a lectern beneath the air-conditioning vent.

“Now the nurse won’t be as crowded anymore.”

The hot weather created torturous road conditions for Valley-area travelers. Calls for roadside assistance to the Southern California Automobile Club were up about 40% over the average on Tuesday, as cars overheated, tires blew out and radiator hoses snapped under the strain of the day’s heat.

“That translates to people having to wait longer for service” after calling for help, said Auto Club Communications Manager Layna Browdy.

An increase in service calls “is not uncommon on terribly hot days like this,” Browdy said. “The heat has an effect on how well your car runs.

“The best way to prevent getting stuck in an emergency situation on a hot day is to make sure you maintain the car . . . and carry some water to drink and something to snack on in case you get stuck waiting for help.

“And try to have patience.”

Weather forecasters expect little relief today. Valley temperatures are expected to remain at record highs, said National Weather Service meteorologist Rob Krohn.

On Thursday, the mercury should begin to drop, Krohn said, with temperatures forecast to reach a relatively pleasant 102 degrees in Woodland Hills and 96 in Burbank.

Friday through Sunday will be cooler, as the temperature levels out in the 90s--normal for this time of year, Krohn said.

Residents may have to wait a while for a return to those 80-degree temperatures they enjoyed in July. “If we do get 80s,” Krohn said, “it will be like 89.”

Correspondent Claire Vitucci contributed to this story

* HOTTER STILL: In Furnace Creek, it’s 123 degrees in the shade. B8

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Triple-Digit Heat Wave

Triple-digit temperatures blazed the San Fernando Valley Tuesday for the third consecutive day, setting records at some recording stations. A high-pressure system centered over the West Coast is causing the excessive heat.

Setting Records

Record high temperatures for Aug. 5 at various Valley recording stations, along with Tuesday’s high:

Burbank

Record high: 101 (1983)

Tuesday high: 108

*

Chatsworth

Record high: 109 (1994)

Tuesday high: 110

*

Van Nuys

Record high: *

Tuesday high: 111

*

Woodland Hills

Record high: 112 (1983)

Tuesday high: 110

* No temperature records available.

Health Tips

* Slow down and avoid strenuous outdoor activities

* Wear lightweight, light-colored clothing

* Drink plenty of water

* Eat small meals throughout the day

* Avoid alcoholic and caffeinated beverages

Source: National Weather Service; WeatherData Inc.