Records break as heat wave intensifies; 122 in Palm Springs

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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 Ahn Do

June 29, 2013 6:31 PM PT

More records broke Saturday as a heat wave kept its grips on California and the West.

According to the National Weather Service, several desert and Inland Empire communities set new records for this day of the year, including Palm Springs (122 degrees), Indio (121) and Riverside (105).

Other record highs for the date were recorded in Lancaster (111), Paso Robles (111), Idyllwild (98) and Camarillo (89), according to the NWS.

The hottest places were in desert areas. Needles set a new record of 120 degrees, according to Accuweather.

Closer to Los Angeles, Granada Hills, Chatsworth, Woodland Hills, Lancaster, Claremont and Santa Clarita recorded triple-digit temperatures Saturday afternoon.

Officials said the extreme heat will continue until at least Tuesday.

“It’s early in the heat season. Usually our hottest months are August and September. We’re not even in July yet, but this is a massive high pressure system and it’s just smothering,” said Bill Patzert, a climatologist at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Cañada Flintridge.

On Saturday, the NWS warned that temperatures could rise above 120 degrees in some desert areas. They predicted 100 to 115 degrees in valleys, 100 to 105 in lower mountains and up to 95 in coastal areas.

“We’ll set record highs today,” NWS meteorologist John Dumas said, noting that Ojai, at 104 degrees, beat its previous record of 103, while San Luis Obispo tied its earlier record of 97.

The minimum temperature in Burbank last night clocked in at 74.

“That’s making people most uncomfortable,” Dumas said. “Everybody knows they will be hot by day, but when it doesn’t drain down at night, it’s a lot harder. If you can go to bed and cool off and get a good night’s sleep, you can recover. But if you can’t, it’s a huge challenge to your day.”

Phoenix was looking to set a new record, too. As of 3 p.m., it was 119 degrees, according to Accuweather. Las Vegas was at 113 and Death Valley 126.

A slight cooling is to start Monday and last through July 4, although temperatures will still be above normal, Dumas said.

The last significant heat wave in Southern California was in 2009, when the region baked for two weeks.

In Death Valley, July is the month with the most deaths and injuries such as dehydration, according to statistics, said Chris Stachelski, meteorologist from the National Weather Service’s Las Vegas branch. Those most likely to get hurt are people who don’t realize their limits, wander and become disoriented, he added.

Death Valley is usually about 12 degrees warmer than Las Vegas, with normal highs hovering around 114 degrees.

Stachelski predicted that temperatures there would hit 128 on Saturday and inch up to 129 Sunday and Monday.

“All records,” he said. “If you don’t have a reason to go there, don’t go there. The last time we were there to inspect the equipment, in May, it was only 98.”

In Los Angeles, 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 in the area.

Fireworks also went on sale Friday in some areas, adding another fire danger. Fireworks will 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.

Dry brush is a reason for the increase in fires, Berlant said. Current weather conditions are more typical of late August or early September, he said.

“We’re in a long-term drought,” climatologist Patzert said. “The situation is extremely crispy and dry. That equals incendiary.”

Several agencies opened cooling centers — air-conditioned facilities where the public can escape the heat — in Los Angeles County. For information about the centers, call 211, or view an interactive map of the centers online.

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