And There’s More to Come : 112 Degrees Makes El Toro Hottest Spot in the Nation

Orange County continued to swelter for the third consecutive day Thursday in record-breaking heat that offered only this superlative as consolation: El Toro, where the mercury climbed to 112, was the hottest spot in the nation.

The heat broke a 27-year-old record in the county, where the previous highest temperature for an April 6 was 95 degrees recorded in Anaheim in 1962.

Like their counterparts throughout Southern California, Orange County residents coped as best they could--heading for the beach, escaping to air conditioning, seeking out shade and squirting each other with hoses.

The weather was as dry as it was hot, with relative humidity ranging from a barely discernible 8% to a merely arid 34%.

“And there really won’t be any relief until next week,” said Pat Cooper, a meteorologist with WeatherData Inc., which provides forecasts for The Times.

“It shouldn’t really begin abating until about Monday or Tuesday, when the highs will begin easing off into the 90s. And there’s no sign of rain at all,” Cooper said.

At the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station, where the National Weather Service thermometer posted the nation’s hottest reading Thursday, Maj. Gen. Donald E.P. Miller, commanding general of the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, said the record-breaking heat did not affect flight operations at the base.

“There were not heat casualties as far as I know,” Miller said, adding that he was briefed on the hot weather situation at 4 p.m. Thursday. “Operations at the base were normal.”

Elsewhere in the Southland, the mercury climbed to 110 in Ontario, 107 in Palm Springs and Monrovia, 106 at the Los Angeles Civic Center, and 105 in Long Beach, Westwood, Pasadena and Northridge.

Despite the oppressive heat, area hospitals reported no noticeable surge in heat-related illnesses. But there were other problems: stalled cars, shortened school hours, seared gardens and record power use.

California Highway Patrol dispatcher Jenny Keith said there were an unusual number of overheated cars on Orange County highways due to the record temperatures.

“We’ve got a lot of people broken down on the side of the freeway,” Keith said.

Sgt. Mike Brey of the California Highway Patrol offered one piece of advice that might not be popular, but it can keep your car from overheating: When stalled in traffic, turn off your air conditioner.

Coastal breezes provided some relief from the heat wave for Orange County beach cities. In Huntington Beach, the mercury climbed to 84 degrees Thursday, compared with 90-plus readings the previous 2 days.

“We’re getting a nice wind from the south that is cooling us,” Huntington Beach Lifeguard Supervisor Michael Gifford said. “But we still have a very crowded beach today.” He estimated there were 30,000 people on the 3 1/2-mile strip of city beach Thursday morning compared to a normal April weekday average of about 5,000.

Newport Beach lifeguards said 50,000 visitors tried to cool off on their shores, where the high was 78 degrees.

But not every beach reported an increase in crowds. Though they boasted a comparatively cool 78-degree high, San Clemente State Beach lifeguards were baffled by the absence of visitors.

“What was unusual was the small number of people on the beach with such high temperatures--we expected more,” said Greg Kahn, a lifeguard for the state beaches of San Clemente, Doheny and San Onofre. He estimated that Thursday’s crowds were about 30% below Wednesday’s.

“It’s a real mystery that we just can’t attribute to anything,” Kahn said. “We just had a normal off-season day today even though it was extremely warm.”

Seal Beach reported 6,000 sunbathers with a high of 95 degrees at 11 a.m. “It was absolutely a cooker down here,” Seal Beach life guard chief Tim Dorsey said.

At least 20,000 people jammed the sands of Laguna Beach, where the high was 86 degrees.

Inland areas of Orange County, including Fullerton and Santa Ana, failed to get any relief from the blazing heat, however.

Santa Ana Unified School District, the largest in Orange County, had “modified classes” Thursday because of the extreme heat, shortening the day by about 45 minutes, said Diane Thomas, spokeswoman for the school district. Thomas said the school system also curtailed most outdoor activities and instead had “quiet recesses.”

The heat wave increased electricity usage at unprecedented rates.

Steve Sullivan, a spokesman for Southern California Edison Co., said customers in Orange County and elsewhere in the Southland set a record Thursday for a day in April, using 15,101 megawatts of electricity.

Electrical consumption has gone up each day during the heat wave, said another Southern California Edison spokesman, Steve Nelson. He said electricity use increased 13% on Wednesday over Tuesday.

“A lot of people have just started using their electrical cooling appliances during the heat wave, and they’re keeping them on,” Nelson said.

As the temperatures soared, power company officials asked customers to delay the use of heat-producing appliances, such as stoves and dryers, until the evening hours.

And Medical experts warned of potentially serious consequences for those who must go out in the heat and the sun.

Times staff writers Eric Malnic, George Frank, Kim Jackson, George Ramos, Hector Tobar and Elaine Woo contributed to this article.