O.C. Meltdown Continues as Records Fall

A searing heat wave drove Orange County thermometers to record highs again Wednesday with overheated cars clogging Southland freeways, air conditioners pushing electrical systems to their limit, and firefighters battling fierce temperatures and relentless blazes.

The day started off hot and got worse, as temperatures climbed through the day to hit 106 in Fullerton and 104 in Anaheim and San Juan Capistrano. In Los Angeles, a high of 109 degrees at the Civic Center shattered a 14-year record for the date by a full seven degrees.

And little relief is expected before the weekend.

Forecasters, tracking a massive high-pressure system stalled over the Southwest, said residents probably will not get much of a reprieve until this weekend or early next week.

“It’s very rare to have this extreme heat . . . over such a large stretch from California, through Texas, Kansas, as far north as Utah,” said Bill Hibbert, a meteorologist at WeatherData, Inc., a firm that provides forecasts for The Times. “There’s been records set all over the place the last few days . . . and it’s going to continue at least through (today).”

As uncomfortable as it was, the weather proved to be fertile material for comedians and radio disc jockeys, who joked about the heat and reminded their listeners that at least they don’t live in Phoenix, where the temperature played around 122.

But for most, the weather was no laughing matter.

“Oh, wow, I’m done for the day, thank God,” a weary Carl Keller, 26, of San Bernardino said as he and three other construction workers neared the end of their shift smashing concrete at a Cal State Fullerton work site. “This has been the hottest. This has been the worst.”

With air conditioners blasting, Southern Californians set a record for power consumption for the second straight day, leading to spotted outages because of over-taxed transformers. Utility company officials said at least 120,000 customers around the county lost power Wednesday, but most of it was quickly restored.

Local hospitals reported treating a handful of patients, most of them elderly, for heat exhaustion and dehydration. Some pregnant women living without the benefit of air conditioning and irritated by the heat flocked to a Fullerton women’s center after a sleepless night. And dozens of stalled, overheated cars dotted area roads, creating near-gridlock conditions at times in Orange County on the Santa Ana, Costa Mesa and Riverside freeways.

“We’ve about doubled our business because of cars overheating,” said Nancy Webber, dispatcher for Tristar Towing in Anaheim. “It all hits in the middle of the day between 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. My poor drivers don’t get a break. They finish one call and I send them right back out on another one.”

But the the heat’s most potentially devastating impact could be seen from miles away Wednesday in the form of smoke billowing from at least half a dozen fires that started around the Southland during the day.

“When you have hot temperatures and low humidity, everything can burn extraordinarily easily and extraordinarily quickly,” said Kathleen Cha, Orange County Fire Department information officer. “In this type of weather, it moves fast and hot.”

Throughout the Southland, thousands sought relief from the heat at local beaches, which reported temperatures as much as 35 degrees lower than those inland. In Huntington Beach, for instance, the mercury hovered in the relatively comfortable high 60s and 70s most of the day, while nearby Santa Ana reached a record-tying high for the date of 101 degrees.

And lifeguards said they were surprised to see that the hot inland weather did not send even more people to the shores. Still, there were enough beach-goers--75,000 at Newport Beach alone--to keep things busy.

“They came out here and caught some good breezes. It was actually pretty cool, so it was nice,” said Mitchel Bray, senior lifeguard at Huntington Beach.

Not so lucky were Los Angeles children at six year-around schools that do not have air conditioning. They sweated it out for a while, but four schools closed early when temperatures inside some classrooms topped 90 degrees.

“They’re so hot, poor things,” said Carol Marderosian, a fourth-grade teacher at Reseda Elementary School in the San Fernando Valley. “There’s a lot of nose bleeds, their stomachs hurt, their faces are red.”

Some in Orange County sought refuge at local amusement parks. Business doubled at Wild Rivers, a water-based theme park in Laguna Hills, and unusually long lines were reported at water rides at such parks as Knott’s Berry Farm and Disneyland.

But even the prospect of 30 seconds or so on Splash Mountain wasn’t enough to make Newport Beach businessman James de Bom brave the heat.

As part of an annual ritual among Newport Beach businesses to wine and dine the last man picked in the National Football League draft, de Boom brought Los Angeles Raider-bound Demetrius Davis to Disneyland Wednesday morning. But by noon, with temperatures over 100 degrees, they decided to leave and come back in the evening when things cooled down.

But Angels batboy Chris Drummond had no such option as he sweated his way through a day game at Anaheim Stadium against the Chicago White Sox.

“They said it was 106 today, but it’s a hell of a lot hotter than that in the stadium,” he said. The players, he added, have it easier: their dugouts are air conditioned.

Concession hawkers, meanwhile, were flooded with demands for cold drinks and Icees why trying to stay near the stadium tunnels in an often-unsuccessful effort to stay cool and catch a breeze. And free ice refills by some vendors, trendy water bottles, towels packed with ice cubes, sun visors and brightly colored umbrellas all proved hot items for about 34,020 fans at the game.

Some even claimed to enjoy the heat.

“We bought the seats intentionally to sit in the sun,” Marc Green of Irvine said as he made his way back to the right-field stands after a beer run, “and I love it!”

Contributing to this story were Times staff writers Eric Malnic and Penelope McMillan in Los Angeles; Matt Lait, Davan Maharaj, Robert Pierre and Ted Johnson in Orange County, and correspondents Laura Michaelis, Lisa Mascaro and Jennifer Bush in Orange County.

RECORD HEAT

Why it’s hot 1. As the Jet Stream moves clockwise over the U.S. a cone of hot sinking air comes spiraling down. 2. High pressure system creates an inversion layer and forces hot air to stay down. 3. Sun heats the ground and causes air to rise quickly, piercing the inversion layer and allowing the smog to scape.

Northridge: 108 Degrees Pasadena: 110 Degrees Death Valley: 118 Degrees Ontario: 112 Degrees San Bernardino: 107 Degrees Palm Springs: 119 Degrees Needles: 116 Degrees Thousand Oaks: 112 Degrees Ventura: 85 Degrees Long Beach: 106 Degrees Santa Ana: 101 Degrees San Clemente: 86 Degrees Riverside: 108 Degrees El Cajon: 106 Degrees San Diego: 91 Degrees Source: National Weather Service, Weather Data Inc.

MORE PHOTOS, GRAPHICS AND TEMPERATURES: B1, B8

HOT LID: High-pressure dome is keeping heat on in Southwest. A27