San Juan Reports Torrid 111 With More of Same to Come

Orange County sweltered through the hottest day of the year on Monday, with San Juan Capistrano reporting 111 degrees--an unofficial county record for the date. Santa Ana and El Toro were close behind with 110, and the National Weather Service was predicting more of the same for several days.

Elsewhere, Fullerton reported 108 degrees, Mission Viejo 107, Newport Beach 88 and Huntington Beach 82.

Los Angeles’ high of 107 degrees was a record for the date and the highest temperature since Sept. 1, 1955, when the mercury reached 110.

More Records Today?

Records may be set again today, when temperatures are expected to range well above the 100 mark. On Wednesday, forecasters said, the high should be around 102.

Highs today and Wednesday should range from 75 to 80 at the beaches and from 105 to 110 in the inland valleys. Overnight lows are expected to be in the mid-70s.

Forecasters said a strong high-pressure system in the upper atmosphere was centered over the eastern Mojave Desert, shoving hot, dry air into the Southland and pushing the marine layer out to sea. A low-pressure area may form inland by the end of the week, causing some sea breezes near the coast and cooling things off slightly there.

But despite the record-setting heat, county beaches reported normal crowds Monday. A Huntington State Beach lifeguard estimated the crowd at 25,000 to 30,000 --”typical for a Monday”--and said lifeguards performed about 40 rescues. Laguna Beach lifeguards also reported an average summer crowd there, but a lifeguard at Huntington City Beach said a “good-sized crowd” of 45,000 took refuge from high temperatures inland.

Crowds for the Fourth

Lifeguards and park officials predict a heavy crowd Thursday if the heat wave continues through the Fourth of July.

While some residents fled to the beaches Monday, the rest found other ways to fight the heat. Roberta Von Urff, 22, struggled to her Toyota in the South Coast Plaza parking lot, an electric fan under each arm. “This is probably the straw that broke it,” she said.

Von Urff, a Newport Beach resident, said she was going home to cool off. “I try to avoid the beach on days like this because it’s too much of a zoo,” she said.

Others who had to be outdoors in the midday hours took whatever relief they could find. One Orange County Transit District driver said some riders were seeking refuge in his air-conditioned bus. Another, who said his bus was only “a little bit” air conditioned, agreed that a little relief was better than none. “I haven’t had any complaints yet,” he said.

Rosy Ruiz, 20, carried her relief with her in the form of a bright red umbrella. Ruiz, of Costa Mesa, said her strategy was working quite well, but conceded that “It’s very hot.”

Red Flag Alert Called

The heat, combined with the unusually dry air, forced the Orange County Fire Department to go to a “red flag alert” Monday afternoon. The alert signals an exceptionally high fire danger, department spokesman Joe Kerr said. “A rule of thumb is that major fire conditions exist when the relative humidity drops below 30%,” he said, adding: “The conditions exist.”

A red flag alert means fire officials will dispatch extra equipment and personnel when a brush fire is first reported. Ordinarily, two or three fire engines are sent to such a fire, Kerr said. But when a red flag alert is in effect, up to 10 engines, some bulldozers, air tankers and additional ground crews are dispatched.

Kerr added that major fires in surrounding counties can force the Orange County department to stretch its resources. On Sunday night, for example, 15 county trucks and crews were on loan to departments in neighboring counties. With temperatures expected to remain high for the rest of the week, Kerr urged county residents to show “extra concern” for fire prevention.

Electric Usage Soars

Electrical usage Monday soared as air conditioners labored against the heat, and the heavy usage triggered power outtages for about 1,500 Orange County customers beginning in the late afternoon and continuing through the evening, according to Gene Carter, a spokesman for Southern California Edison Co. The most severe blackout took place in the El Toro-Leisure World area, where about 1,000 customers were without power during the evening hours, Carter said. Scattered blackouts were also reported in Westminster, La Habra, Fullerton, Mission Viejo, Santa Ana and Orange.

At 3 p.m., Southern California Edison Co. reported its peak output of 14,171 megawatts, the highest for the year and the most since last June 7, when temperatures in the area were in the middle 90s. Edison’s all-time record usage remained at 15,189 megawatts for last Sept. 5, when the high was 105 in downtown Los Angeles.

Although the weather service noted that the heat wave is a dry one, it warned that sunstroke, heat cramps and heat exhaustion are possible with prolonged exposure and/or physical activity.

First-stage smog episodes were declared by the South Coast Air Quality Management District in coastal Orange County and in the northwest coastal Los Angeles area.

Times staff writer Jack Jones contributed to the preparation of this story.