Jul. 11--Fresno reached a scorching high of 112 on Thursday as officials investigated possible heat-related deaths to the north and south.
A farmworker who died in Kern County earlier this week may have succumbed to heat, officials said. And a 91-year-old woman died of heat-related causes early Thursday at a Modesto mobile home park, Stanislaus County coroners officials reported.
No deaths or serious heat-related injuries were reported in Fresno.
Officials at most area hospitals said they haven't seen any illnesses directly related to the heat, but said weather may have been a contributing factor sending some people to emergency departments.
At Kaiser Permanente, one patient showed up in the emergency room with symptoms of minor heat exhaustion after her car's air conditioner failed, said spokesman Rob Saroyan.
Thursday's high of 112 made it the hottest day of the year so far. Fresno also broke a record for the date for the highest overnight low temperature. The low Thursday morning was 82. The old record for July 11 was 80, which was set in 1896.
Cooler air should provide temporary relief beginning today.
The scorching heat and lingering smoke from wildfires burning across the state contributed to a continuing air quality alert that urges residents to limit outdoor activities.
Fresno officials once again waived admission charges at city pools and extended the hours to help residents cool off. Cooling centers also opened throughout the Valley.
The heat and the bad air quality combined to send a rush of patients to local hospitals and respiratory specialists. Dr. Malik Baz, a Fresno allergist, said this is normally a slow time of year for him and other asthma and allergy specialists.
"Not this year," Baz said. "This year we have a high pollen count, plus the smoke-polluted air. So we're seeing many more patients than usual."
Baz said the air quality is so bad right now that he is telling everyone, even friends who have no respiratory problems, that they should stay indoors as much as they can.
"Everyone should also drink a lot of fluids right now," Baz said. "When they drive, people keep their windows up and use the recirculating setting for their air conditioners."
The heat was especially unwelcome news for residents of the Californian, an eight-story former hotel in downtown Fresno. One of two air conditioners at the building broke down on Tuesday, and a part expected to arrive on Thursday won't be installed until today.
"We're continuing to do everything we can to make our residents as comfortable as possible," said Californian spokeswoman Trudy Moxley. "We are using the one system that is working, and we are keeping everyone well hydrated with water and Gatorade."
In Kern County, Abdon Felix, 42, died Wednesday after working from morning to early afternoon in an Arvin vineyard owned by Delano-based Sunview Vineyards, the Kern County Sheriff's Office reported. If confirmed as a heat death, it would be the third this year for a farmworker in California.
Felix was a passenger in a Sunview truck headed from Arvin to Delano on Highway 99 when he became unresponsive, the sheriff's office reported. Emergency workers took him to Delano Regional Medical Center, where his body core temperature was measured at 108 degrees. He died 12 minutes after arrival.
The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health was investigating Felix's death, and whether Sunview Vineyards followed state regulations to prevent heat illness, said agency spokeswoman Kate McGuire. That investigation could take two to three months, she said.
State regulations require farms and contractors to give workers water, allow regular shade breaks and have emergency plans in place to help heat exhaustion sufferers, among other requirements.
Sunview Vineyards attorney Howard Sagaser said the company followed all the state's heat-illness prevention regulations at the site where Felix was loading grape boxes into a truck. The employees had stopped working early that afternoon because of the heat, he said.
"We are investigating and cooperating fully with the authorities," he said. "Regardless of the cause here, you have a loss here, and Sunview would like to express its sympathies to the family."
United Farm Workers spokeswoman Vicki Adame, who identified the worker as Abdon Felix Garcia, said he had a wife and three children living in the state of Zacatecas, in Mexico.
UFW was investigating the site where he had been working to see "whether they had water, whether they had shade, whether they got their minimum five-minute break per hour," Adame said.
A weather system moving through Washington state will bring westerly winds off of the Pacific Ocean, said Carlos Molina, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
"That cool air will filter down the Delta, and over the coastal range, and drop our high temperature below 100 degrees by Saturday," Molina said. "Those winds should remain through at least Monday."
Today, expect patchy smoke with a high of 103 with an overnight low of 75.
Patchy smoke will remain in the air on Saturday, with a forecast high of 99, and an overnight low of 75. There's a 20% chance of showers and thunderstorms on Saturday night and into Sunday morning. Sunday's high should be 97.
The reporters can be reached at jeffstjohn@fresnobee.com, dboyles@fresnobee.com or (559) 441-6330.
-----
To see more of The Fresno Bee, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.fresnobee.com
Copyright (c) 2008, The Fresno Bee, Calif.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.