Heat Sets New L.A. Record at 112 Degrees

The temperature blasted to 112 degrees at the Los Angeles Civic Center on Tuesday--the hottest day ever in the city--as a blistering heat wave claimed the life of a 4-year-old, fouled the air with a severe siege of smog, triggered an outbreak of small fires, threatened crops and forced the schools to activate emergency weather measures.

The oppressive weather in the Southwest--suspected of killing three people in Phoenix--was expected to continue today, with forecasters predicting more record temperatures and a cloud of harmful ozone blanketing the Southland.

The 112 degrees registered at the Los Angeles Civic Center smashed a 107-year-old record for June 26 by 14 degrees to become the hottest day ever recorded in the city since the National Weather Service began keeping records in 1877.

“That little sucker keeps going up,” weather service spokesman Pat Rowe said of the mercury level.

Even so, Los Angeles’ heat didn’t approach that of Phoenix, where the thermometer hit a record 122 degrees on Tuesday.

Shortly after the temperature peaked at 2:47 p.m., officials at Phoenix’s Sky Harbor International Airport ordered all airlines to cancel takeoffs.

The heat had reduced lift to the point that planes had no margin of error trying to get airborne, explained airport spokesman Rick Martinez. It was the first time planes had been grounded because of heat in the airport’s history, he said.

The airport resumed normal operation after temperatures dropped in the late afternoon. In Pacoima, an abandoned car turned into a death trap Tuesday for a 4-year-old boy who was accidentally locked in the vehicle for an estimated two hours and died of heat exhaustion.

The unconscious body of Francisco Hernandez was discovered by his mother and an aunt at about 5 p.m. in the back of a dusty old Ford LTD parked near an empty lot across the street from Hernandez’s great-grandmother’s house in the 12700 block of Judd Street.

“With temperatures up at around 110 to 115, it probably didn’t take too long for the heat to get him, and for dehydration to set in,” said Los Angeles police Officer Philip Booth.

The heat may also have caused the death of a man found unconscious at a bus depot in El Monte, officials said. The man, whose identity was not released, had a temperature of 108 degrees when he arrived at Greater El Monte Community Hospital, officials said.

Los Angeles school officials announced that if the heat wave continues, principals may be authorized to implement “shortened day” schedules in schools without air conditioners or where less than half the classrooms are air conditioned. With early dismissal, students would be out of classes between 2 and 3 p.m., the hottest part of the day, officials said.

The National Weather Service issued a special statement Tuesday warning that prolonged exposure and physical activity could cause sunstroke, heat cramps and exhaustion.

“People should take frequent breaks from physical activity and drink plenty of fluids,” the statement said.

Scorching temperatures and gusting, dry winds led to an outbreak of fires that damaged at least a half dozen homes. The worst blaze hit a home on Angeles Crest Highway in La Canada Flintridge, then burned through 50 acres of surrounding brush and damaged four more homes before it was contained.

“The heat makes it very difficult and uncomfortable for firefighters,” said Los Angeles city fire spokesman Jim Wells.

Fire danger is not as high as in Santa Ana conditions, “but of course the winds could come up at any point,” Wells said.

Winds were strong enough for parts of the day to topple several trees on the Westside and in the San Fernando Valley, snarling traffic but causing no injuries.

Southern Californians coped with the heat largely by cranking up air conditioners. As a result, utility officials reported that residential and business users set records Tuesday for electricity consumption to keep their cooling units operating.

Despite several minor power transformer failures, utility officials said no major power outages resulted.

The hottest spots in Southern California included the traditionally scorching desert towns: Thermal and Blythe at 122 degrees; Death Valley at 121; Palm Springs and Borrego Springs at 120 and Needles at 119.

Woodland Hills and Ontario peaked at 112; San Gabriel and San Bernardino recorded 111; Burbank and Riverside hit 110; it was 109 in Northridge and Pasadena. About the only relief that could be found was at the beach, where readings in the 70s and 80s were common. But the mercury still hit 99 in Long Beach.

Normal temperatures for the last week in June are usually around 80 degrees, forecasters said.

Officials issued a heat advisory, warning people to use “common sense” the next several days to avoid heat-related hazards.

“When it gets this hot, construction workers, roofers and other people who work outside need to take precautions, take a lot of breaks in the shade and drink plenty of water,” said National Weather Service forecaster Dan Atkin.

A stubborn ridge of high pressure centered over the Four Corners area of the Rockies is responsible for an inversion layer that has trapped the heat over the western third of the nation, said forecaster Bill Hibbard of WeatherData Inc., which provides forecasts for The Times.

Hibbard likened the inversion layer to a sheet of aluminum foil--”like a roasting tent on your turkey. Everything just sort of sits there and keeps heating up.”

The heat onslaught is expected to last through Thursday, with lower temperatures expected for Friday and the weekend, Hibbard said.

The inversion layer also will make today the smoggiest so far this year in Southern California, exceeding Tuesday’s foulness, said Bill Kelly, a spokesman for the South Coast Air Quality Management District.

First-stage smog alerts--described as “very unhealthful,” with ozone counts exceeding a pollutant standard index of 200--were forecast for downtown Los Angeles, the San Fernando Valley, the Santa Clarita Valley, the San Gabriel Valley, the Pomona Valley, Riverside, San Bernardino and the Hemet-Lake Elsinore area.

Elsewhere in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties, the ozone count is expected to exceed 100, a level described as “unhealthful.”

“The ozone cloud will cover the whole area . . . . Almost no matter where you go, you can’t escape unhealthful air,” Kelley said. “Even on the beach, even in the mountains. We’ll be here in the muck.”

Ozone, created by a photochemical reaction of sunlight and hydrocarbons, is an invisible pollutant that scratches the throat and lungs, and reduces resistance to infections and harms the recovery process from respiratory ailments such as the common cold.

In first-stage smog alerts, officials advise that people who are elderly or have respiratory or heart ailments to remain indoors and avoid physical activity. Schools are advised to curtail physical education activities and sports.

The National Weather Service issued a heat advisory for inland orchards and vineyards in San Diego County, and growers said berry crops would be damaged immediately and some fruits could be lost if the heat continues.

“This is going to finish up the strawberries,” said Ben Hillbrecht, a grower with about 200 acres near Escondido. “And the boysenberries will cook right on the vine. We won’t have any this year.” He said the heat also will stop raspberry bushes from producing for about one month.

Avocados have just appeared as tiny green buds, and Hillbrecht said if they don’t get enough moisture, they may fall off.

“There are certainly some crops that are threatened, though at this moment we have seen no damage,” said grower Jim Bathgate of Valley Center.

In Arizona, six firefighters battling a lightning-sparked wildfire 90 miles northeast of Phoenix died Tuesday and at least five others were hospitalized with serious burns, authorities said.

Officials did not know the full circumstances of the six deaths in the blaze in the Mogollon Rim region 90 miles northeast of Phoenix, said Tonto National Forest spokesman Bob Celaya.

Four of the injured firefighters were prison inmates who were among the 1,000 people battling a blaze on a mountain ridge.

The were taken to the burn unit of the Maricopa Medical Center in Phoenix.

“We are getting some in and we don’t have them all yet,” said nursing supervisor Donna Heitman. “We are almost in the process of preparing for a disaster.”

Fire officials in Phoenix said three deaths there were possibly related to the intense heat, but the official cause of death will not before autopsies are conducted.

Tom Butler, 47, last seen going for a drink of water and complaining of cramping and other heat-related problems, was found dead on the floor of his room, said Fire Department spokesman Steve Jensen.

A 47-year-old transient, Robert Scott, went into a seizure in a public park and was found to have a temperature of 105.8 degrees before dying in a hospital emergency room, Jensen said. A third man whose name was not released was found dead in an alley behind a cocktail lounge.

By late Tuesday, the Phoenix Fire Department had responded to 31 medical emergency calls related to the heat.

“People don’t realize how hot it is here. It will dehydrate you in 20 minutes if you’re not careful,” Jensen said.

Boyer reported from Los Angeles. Marcano reported from Phoenix. Times staff writers Lori Grange, Scott Harris, Nieson Himmel, Amy Louise Kazmin, John Kendall, Sheryl Stolberg and Martha L. Willman contributed to this story.