Southern California to sizzle in weekend heat wave

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Randy Thomas of Vacaville, Calif., tries to fry an egg on the salt flats in Death Valley’s Badwater Basin. He drove there to experience the heat. (Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times)

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Sarah Mason, left, and Lance Lindsey, both from Los Angeles, and Joey Teixeira of Honolulu have their picture taken with of a thermometer -- showing 132 degrees -- at the Furnace Creek Visitor Center in Death Valley. (Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times)

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Randy Thomas, left, of Vacaville, Calif., helps Andreas Kinnen from Germany hold up a thermometer in Death Valley’s Badwater Basin. (Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times)

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Conchi Almanza takes a photo of Mar Rodriguez in front of a digital thermometer at the Furnace Creek Visitor Center in Death Valley. The two tourists from Spain were likely to experience history Sunday with record temperatures forecast. (Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times)

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Rafael Artsrunyan, 2, splashes in the William Mulholland Memorial Fountain in Los Feliz. (Bret Hartman / For The Times)

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During the heat wave, children swim at the LA84 Foundation/John C. Argue Swim Stadium pool in Los Angeles’ Exposition Park neighborhood. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Children cool off in the swimming pool in the Exposition Park neighborhood. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Leslie, Ernesto and Sharai Najera -- 7, 6 and 7, respectively -- shade themselves as they walk along Broadway in Los Angeles’ Chinatown. (Susannah Kay / Los Angeles Times)

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David Murillio, 8, left, and Joshua Rodriguez, 9, cool off in a two-story inflatable pool in Boyle Heights. The boys were on their way to Pecan Recreation Center when they saw that their neighbors had rented the pool and jumped in. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)

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Pedestrians with cold drinks stroll past a window display of bathing suits at the Looksy Couture Boutique in Palm Springs. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

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A decorative sun in the window of the Cocky Cactus gift shop hints at the heat on the streets of Palm Springs. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

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Palm Springs resident Mike Cruz cools off with a Coke in the air-conditioned Raspados Colima ice cream shop along Highway 111 in Cathedral City, where temperatures hovered around 110 degrees Friday. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

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Leonardo Zenaidi, 5, plays in the fountain at Grand Park in downtown Los Angeles as temperatures continue to climb Friday. (Sydney Stewart / Los Angeles Times)

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Gabby Iglesias plays with her 4-month-old daughter McKayla at Grand Park¿s Arthur J. Will Memorial Fountain. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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A marine layer still hovers over Zuma Beach in Malibu on Thursday afternoon. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

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Mercedes Lopez, 2, relaxes in the shady part of the wading area in Grand Park. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Next to Echo Park Lake, Mishelle Parry reads in the shade as an ice cream vendor walks by. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

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A woman walks dogs past a fireworks stand in Santa Ana. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

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A man walks along the sand in Long Beach on Thursday morning as sun breaks through the marine layer. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

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Rosie Melendez, 9, strikes a pose as she jumps into a small pool in Boyle Heights. (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

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Greg Nunez helps Raiders Youth Cheer, a civic youth group, set up a fireworks stand in Ventura County. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

By Emily Foxhall

June 28, 2013 7:56 AM PT

Temperatures are expected to spike Friday as Southern Californians brace for a blistering weekend that has prompted heat advisories and the opening of cooling centers.

The National Weather Service issued heat warnings for large swaths of the state, including parts of Imperial, Kern, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties.

Many inland valleys and desert areas could see temperatures well above 100 degrees for the next several days. The mercury could top 120 degrees in the Coachella Valley and 129 in Death Valley, still short of the 134-degree record set there in 1913.

PHOTOS: Heat wave in the Southland

The heat is a particular concern to firefighters because it comes in a year of record dry conditions that have already sparked several major brush fires across Southern California.

On top of that, fireworks go on sale in some areas beginning Friday, adding another fire danger.

Fireworks are to be sold in 295 designated communities in the state through the Fourth of July.

Since January, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection has responded to about 2,900 fires, department spokesman Daniel Berlant said. In an average year, he said, it would have responded to fewer than 1,800 by this time.

This increase in fire starts results from the prevalence of dry brush, Berlant said. He added that current weather conditions are more typical of late August or early September.

“We’re in a long-term drought,” said Bill Patzert, a climatologist with the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Cañada Flintridge. “The situation is extremely crispy and dry. That equals incendiary.”

The high temperatures combined with low humidity and dry brush increase the danger of wildfires, said Bonnie Bartling, a weather specialist at the National Weather Service’s Los Angeles station. But because high winds are not forecast for most areas, the service has issued a fire warning only in southern Santa Barbara County.

Somewhat lower temperatures are expected starting Monday, but most residents still will find it plenty hot.

“‘Cooler’ is a relative term,” Bartling said.

Because of the rising heat levels and low humidity, the U.S. Forest Service has extended the hours of its staffing in the Angeles National Forest, effective at least through Monday.

Personnel will be on high alert July 4, even though fireworks are never permitted in the park, spokesman Nathan Judy said.

“If we have fires, the chance of their growing larger is that much greater,” Judy said.

The Los Angeles County Fire Department is increasing its staffing Tuesday in anticipation of the holiday, spokesman Tony Akins said. Peak staffing of about 90 firefighters is scheduled for the Fourth of July.

The heat wave could be especially dangerous for the elderly, small children and people with chronic ailments, authorities said.

Several agencies opened cooling centers — air-conditioned public facilities that can be used to escape the heat. Information about the centers can be found by dialing 211, the county’s information line. Click on the following link to find an interactive map of the centers.

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Twitter: @emfoxhall

emily.foxhall@latimes.com