Bay Area Health Officials Warn Public About Extreme Heat

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(TNS) – Bay Area health officials sounded the alarm Friday over the heat wave approaching the Bay Area for Labor Day weekend, warning residents that they needed to take advisories about the high temperatures seriously and prepare to stay cool.

The heat dome moving in over the region slowed a bit going into the weekend, with highs originally project for Saturday and the next two days moving back. It appeared the warmest days will be Sunday and Monday, with the work week starting in a blistering way on Tuesday.

“This one is being taken particularly seriously because of how hot and how long it’s going to last,” Contra Costa County Health Officer Dr. Oz Tzvieli said Friday morning. “We’ve also learned in public health that heat is a very threatening event. Very many people can die, and they can die anonymously. A lot of people, especially elders, may not have air conditioning and can be particularly vulnerable.”

Temperatures were expected to peak at about 102 degrees on Friday and Saturday in Brentwood, generally the hottest spot in Contra Costa County . Livermore, normally Alameda County’s hot spot, was expected to reach 97. Morgan Hill , normally one of the hottest places in Santa Clara County , was forecast for a 94- degree high on those days, while the usually cooler places — Oakland (75), San Francisco (69), were expected to remain that way.

It was expected to be even worse in the Sacramento Valley , where forecast highs of 112 caused state officials to issue their own warning.

“Extreme heat poses a substantial health risk, especially for young children, the elderly people with chronic diseases, pregnant individuals, people with disabilities and people who are socially isolated,” California Public Health Officer Dr. Tomas Aragon said.

An excessive heat warning for the North Bay and far interior regions of the East Bay issued by the National Weather Service now will start at 11 a.m. Sunday, a 24-hour delay from the original statement. Contra Costa County and Santa Clara County will have cooling centers available, as will Livermore, Pleasanton and Dublin.

“This heat wave looks likes the real thing,” Tzvieli said. “Many days of triple-digits, less cooling at night. So we’re particularly concerned that more vulnerable people will suffer, especially as this goes on day after day.”

The California Independent System Operator extended a statewide Flex Alert into Friday, asking consumers to conserve energy between 4 and 9 p.m. The Bay Area Air Quality Management District issued a Spare the Air Alert for Saturday. citing likely unhealthy air quality.

Fire crews continued to prepare for challenging conditions. The East Bay Regional Park District said it would close many of its parks on Sunday and Monday to be safe. Still, weather forecasters had not issued warnings or watches for specific fire conditions as of midday Friday.

The Santa Clara County Office of Emergency Management issued a message of preparation for the heat wave, listing all of the ways heat can injure a person — heatstroke, heat exhaustion, heat cramps, sunburn, heat rash — or end a life.

The real heat will set in on Sunday, when the high temperatures go up by 5-7 degrees and then again on Monday, when they do so again. As those highs go up so will the nightly low temperatures, especially in the higher elevations.

On Tuesday, when the forecast highs in the hottest places will reach or exceed 110 degrees, the overnight lows will stay in the low 70s in the interior and in the upper 60s.

“Because the air mass itself is so warm, it’s shifting the high temperatures even higher and the low temperatures at night even higher,” NWS meteorologist Sarah McCorkle said. “The marine layer is getting compressed. It’s been fairly shallow the past few days and it’s going to keep on compressing, kind of like squeezing toothpaste out of the tube.”

As a result, said the human body will be working harder than it normally does, and it will not get the chance to cool itself down at night, Tzvieli said.

“We’re particularly concerned for people that don’t have air conditioning,” he said, adding, “it’s very important for people to try to find a cool place.”

He also emphasized the need to drink water routinely “all day so that you (urinate) all the time” and to “avoid that walk or job or exercise in the middle of the day. Stay calm and cool. Keep your activity to a minimum.”

More than anything, he called for neighbor to look upon neighbor.

“If you know somebody who does not have any air conditioning, call and make an offer to invite them offer,” Tzvieli said. “This is a really good chance for community to come together.”