Update: More heat records set in Sacramento, no relief at night, blackout threat remains
As the hellish sun beat down on him Wednesday, Michael Fernandez, 54, threw a 10th bag of trash into the back of his truck’s trailer at a Target parking lot in Sacramento’s Tahoe Park neighborhood.
Fernandez, a maintenance worker for Universal Site Services, spent his afternoon sweeping up trash from the asphalt during a record-setting heat wave that continues to tighten its grip on the Sacramento region and California. This week’s heat is unlike anything he’s experienced in 49 years of living in Sacramento.
“Hell nah, this heat is too crazy,” he said. “This hard work, it’s not for everyone.”
After a week of blistering temperatures, the Sacramento region and Northern California are still a few days away from seeing relief from this historic heat wave. The high temperature in Sacramento is expected to reach 109 degrees today before spiking again Thursday to well above 100, according to the National Weather Service. Friday is expected to bring more triple-digit readings before things finally start to cool down on Saturday.
Here’s the latest on the heat.
More temperature records fall
More high temperature records fell in Sacramento on Wednesday.
The high at Sacramento International Airport was 110 degrees, according to the National Weather Service, surpassing the previous record of 104 set last year.
In downtown Sacramento, the mercury hit 109 degrees, breaking the record of 107 set way back in 1944.
And at Sacramento Executive Airport, the high temperature today was 107, breaking the record from two years ago of 105 degrees.
Record ‘warm lows’ in Sacramento
After Sacramento set an all-time high temperature of 116 degrees on Tuesday, the area set another unpleasant mark Wednesday morning: the sweet relief of the cool morning air was nowhere to be found.
Preliminary data from the National Weather Service show the low temperature in downtown Sacramento on Wednesday was 81 degrees, a record “warm low” for September. The temperature was the same at Sacramento International Airport, establishing a new all-time record low for that location and shattering the previous record warm low for September of 71 degrees set in 2020.
Blue Canyon, at an elevation of nearly 4,700 feet, had a low temperature of 75 degrees, a record for this date. The temperature got down to 73 degrees at Sacramento Executive Airport, tying the September mark set on Tuesday.
Northern CA heat forecast
The National Weather Service is predicting the extreme heat will stick around through the rest of the week.
Highs in the Sacramento Valley will range from 103 to 112 today. Parts of the region could see 114 degrees on Thursday and 111 on Friday.
The Sierra foothills are also seeing extreme conditions.
A weather service forecast shows the highs in the foothills will range from 99 to 109 degrees today. Even Truckee and South Lake Tahoe will see high temperatures approaching 90 degrees.
Saturday looks much better, with highs in the Sacramento region in the 90s. And it might stay in the 80s Sunday.
‘You should have a limit’
It was already 100 degrees in Elk Grove when the construction workers headed for their noon break outside Cosumnes River College’s Elk Grove campus, site of a multi-story expansion project.
The work crews on Big Horn Boulevard and Poppy Ridge Road had been at it since early morning, trying to beat the heat that pummeled them on a record-breaking, triple-digit Tuesday.
“It’s tough, you should have a limit,” said “SBA” Boone, who identified himself by his nickname, as he headed back to his work truck for a water break.
“We got out early (Tuesday),” Boone said, with crews calling it a day that topped out at 116 in the Sacramento area at noon. “It’s tough on us big guys,” he added, nodding over at workmate Mike Echols, taking the break in his car in the dirt lot.
Today, with slightly cooler temps and a teasing breeze out of the Delta, the workers will be on the job until about 2:30 p.m.
But work site veterans like Boone, 30 years on the job, and Echols, in his seventh year, know the rules to stay cool like mantra: Water. Shade. Rest. Start early. Avoid alcohol the night before.
“Stay in the shade if you can,” Echols said. “You almost build a tolerance for it. But you say, ‘Maybe I won’t drink tonight.’ Try to start work as early as you can.”
A breeze, even a slight one can make a big difference on the job site, Echols said.
“One-oh-three with a breeze feels like 95,” he said. “One-oh-three without a breeze?” Echols shook his head.
“Today, boss says, ‘It’s going to be hot today. Take your shade breaks. Work in the shade as much as possible,’” Echols said. “You build a tolerance to it, but if you’re new, it’ll probably put you down.”
Fernandez, the maintenance worker in Sacramento, said he relies on long-sleeve shirts, a sombrero and a blue wet towel on his neck to keep cool. But most important, Fernandez said, is water. He had gone through eight water bottles by noon.
He also allows himself an occasional break, taking advantage of the air conditioning in the truck.
“You go in and sit for a while to get a little bit of the sweat off you,” Fernandez said.
Fernandez hoped to finish his work by 2 p.m on Wednesday. The day prior, when Sacramento broke an almost century-old temperature record, he didn’t stop working until 4:30 p.m.
Once Fernandez finishes sweeping, he planned to jump into his community pool at the Eleven Oaks Mobile Home and RV Park and “definitely eat lots of popsicles.”
Wildfires cause poor air quality
The extreme heat is causing difficult conditions for firefighters battling blazes across the state.
In the Sacramento region, the Mosquito Fire has burned more than 1,200 acres and has led to evacuations in the hilly terrain around Foresthill in the Tahoe National Forest.
The wildfire is creating hazardous air in and around Auburn. People with heart or lung disease, older adults, children and teens should avoid physical activities outdoors. All others should avoid strenuous outdoor activities and consider canceling outdoor activity.
The air quality in the densely population suburbs of south Placer County was generally good on Wednesday morning. Shifting winds could send surface smoke to the area around midnight, according to the National Weather Service.
The air quality in Sacramento is expected to be unhealthy for sensitive groups today and Thursday.
California’s power emergency
The heat wave is placing unprecedented strain on the state’s power grid.
California’s Independent System Operator declared a Stage 3 “emergency energy alert” just before 5:30 p.m. Tuesday — a signal that statewide rolling blackouts could have happened at any moment — but was able to avoid outages. The alert ended at 8 p.m.
A statewide flex alert was issued for Wednesday from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m., urging residents to conserve energy.
The Sacramento Municipal Utility District said Wednesday that it would have had to impose rotating outages on Tuesday evening “if not for the conservation efforts of SMUD customers.”
SMUD said rotating power outages are possible through Friday. Utility agencies recommend cooling homes before 4 p.m. and then setting thermostats to at least 80 degrees after 4 p.m. Major appliances should also be turned off between 4 p.m. and 9 p.m.
Slight increase in heat-related illness
Local emergency medicine physicians say they are seeing patients with heat-related illnesses – heat stroke, heat exhaustion and the like – but this summer’s overall numbers aren’t any greater than in prior years.
Emergency room doctors at Sutter Medical Center in Sacramento and Sutter Roseville Medical Center said they have noticed a slight uptick in heat-related illnesses since temperatures soared at the start of this month, compared with the prior two weeks in August,
Most patients seeking care have been elderly, said Dr. Arthur Jey. They think they are having a stroke, he said, but it’s actually a heat stroke. The most serious heat-related illness, heat stroke can cause confusion, a fever of 106 degrees or higher, seizures, loss of consciousness, and even death if it is not treated.
“It’s called heat stroke for a reason,” Jey said. “It can look like a stroke.”
Typically, a good number of the patients seeking heat-related care are homeless residents, Jey said, but that’s not the case this year. Perhaps, he said, they are finding ways to protect themselves.
How Sacramento schools, parents are coping
Sacramento City Unified schools moved recess, physical education classes and after school events indoors as temperature rose throughout the day.
District officials sent notices that campuses will observe Flex Alerts, raising classroom thermostats from 74 degrees to 78 degrees from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Lisa Dain did not send her son to his Abraham Lincoln Elementary School preschool class on Wednesday after classroom temperatures rose to 83 degrees by 8 a.m. on Tuesday. Dain said a call from his classroom teacher this morning confirmed that classroom temperatures were still high today.
Dain went to the school office to report that the classroom was too warm and found the office to be very cold.
“I think it’s absolutely crazy that we’re required to send our children to school when there’s a heat warning going on right now and they don’t have any AC in the classrooms,” Dain said. “What good is keeping the kids indoors if there’s no AC?”
High school sports canceled
High school sports programs have shifted practices to cooler morning hours and postponed or canceled afternoon activities. For now, Friday night’s high school football schedule in the region appears to be a go.
However, non-football sporting events in the Twin Rivers Unified School District, San Juan Unified and Sacramento City Unified have also been canceled Tuesday and Wednesday, and perhaps all week. The Elk Grove Unified School District has urged its member schools to cancel golf, tennis, cross country and water polo matches this week and to postpone them to next week when the temperatures drop to more normal heights.
Sacramento Republic FC shifted a Wednesday watch party for the team’s US Open Cup final indoors. The party will be held at the SAFE Credit Union Convention Center in downtown Sacramento. Doors open at 4 p.m. and the match against Orlando City of Major League Soccer starts at 5 p.m.
The watch party had originally been planned for Cesar Chavez Plaza in downtown.
This story was originally published September 7, 2022 at 11:47 AM.
