Las Vegas Review-Journal (Sunday)
Heat besets California over holiday weekend
Crowding at beaches raises virus concerns
LOS ANGELES — California is sweltering under a dangerous heat wave Labor Day weekend that was spreading triple-digit temperatures over much of the state, raising concerns about power outages and the spread of the coronavirus as throngs of people packed beaches and mountains for relief.
Officials urged people to conserve electricity to ease strain on the state’s power grid and to follow distancing and mask requirements when they hit recreational areas.
Parking lots to San Diego, Orange and Los Angeles County beaches closed after they filled to capacity and lifeguards reported seeing large crowds.
“Very busy conditions, the beaches are packed wall to wall,” Orange County Lifeguards Capt. Brad Herzog said.
“Holiday weekends are very busy at our beaches, but we’re probably a notch
or two busier because of the heat wave,” he said.
Because of the pandemic, L.A. County beaches were closed during the Fourth of July weekend. But other counties kept their shores open. Holiday gatherings were blamed, in part, for COVID-19 spikes in some counties.
Health authorities warned that beaches could be closed if they become too crowded.
Campgrounds in the San Bernardino National Forest east of Los Angeles were full, and rangers were out in force on “marshmallow patrols” — keeping an especially close watch for campfires and barbecues
outside of designated sites that pose a potential risk of setting a wildfire. They also were worried that the surge of people could overwhelm mountain roads.
Temperatures at sunrise were already in the upper 80s and lower 90s over many foothill areas of Southern California, the National
Weather Service in Oxnard said. By midday, the mercury hit a record-breaking 117 degrees in Woodland Hills in L.A.’s San Fernando Valley.
“On a day like today I’m glad I work inside and I can eat ice cream all day,” said Mai Emami, who said a steady number of customers were coming to the Cup & Cone Ice Cream shop in Woodland Hills to pick up their orders.
The California Independent System Operator, which runs the state power grid, issued a “Flex Alert” for 3 to 9 p.m. Saturday through Monday, asking people to conserve power by not using appliances and keeping air conditioners at 78 degrees or above.
Operators didn’t expect a repeat of the rolling blackouts that took place during a mid-August heat wave. But they warned that the system could be strained by unforeseen problems, such as a fire that disrupts a power line.
The heat, with a forecast of possible dry, gusty winds, made for dangerous weekend fire weather, at a time when nearly 13,000 firefighters already are battling to contain nearly two dozen major fires around California.