Heat Has O.C. Sizzling, Businesses Booming : Weather: Monday was the third consecutive day the hot streak set or tied local records.

Sizzling temperatures pushed Orange County power usage to an all-time high Monday, boosting sales for any business that could provide a measure of relief and extending an August hot streak unrivaled since 1986.

With a high temperature of 96 in Santa Ana, Monday was the third consecutive day the heat wave set or tied local records. It has been at least 94 degrees for five days running, and the coolest day this August was an 82.

Monday, the hottest spot in the county was 101-degree Anaheim. Thermometers hit the 100 mark in Irvine, reached 98 degrees in Lake Forest, and hit 94 in San Juan Capistrano. Newport Beach and Huntington Beach each reported daily highs of 76.

“Last year we had a very cool summer, especially the month of August,” said Marty McKewon, a meteorologist for WeatherData, which does forecasts for The Times. “This year we are experiencing persistent temperatures in the 90s, and it looks to stay that way until the weekend.”

Tom Handzus, a geologist at Cal State Fullerton, said the current heat wave is the worst since 1986, when the average temperature was 91.1 degrees. Meteorologist McKewon agreed that the average heat for this month was not unusual, but said the length of consistent 90-degree temperatures is abnormal.

The month’s average temperature so far is 88.1 degrees, 3 1/2 degrees hotter than the typical August and nearly 7 degrees higher than last year. The hottest August day in history was in 1955, when the mercury hit 110 on the last day of the month.

Millions of people are turning up their air conditioners “full blast” to battle the temperatures which have hit the area for the past week, said Southern California Edison Co. operations analyst Chris Brown.

“We just hit an all-time peak this afternoon with more than 18,413 megawatts of power usage,” Brown said Monday. “Just last Friday we broke a record set in June, 1990, with a 17,000 megawatt day and now again we have another record.”

Crews working more than 15,740 hours of overtime have replaced more than 100 burned-out transformers in Orange County, Brown said. Edison is carefully monitoring circuits to avoid a power failure from overuse, he added.

The sweltering heat wave has depleted ice distributors, bolstered ice cream sales and sent air-conditioner repairmen scurrying to meet dramatically increased demand for cool air. For many business people around the county, hot temperatures mean cold cash.

“We love it. I couldn’t ask for anything better. I love it, I love it, I love it,” said Glen Achterof, manager for the Santa Ana office of Thermal Products, which has seen a 30% increase in sales of replacement parts for air-conditioning units.

Meanwhile, electric fans were disappearing by the dozens at local stores. George Bigney, assistant manager of Target in Santa Ana, said he has been scrambling to keep fans in stock, and still was turning away as many as 70 customers a day.

“A lot of people were buying four or five fans at a time,” Bigney said. “I had one customer who bought 30. I don’t know what he was using them for.”

When a new shipment of fans arrived, the truck driver just emptied his load onto the sidewalk in front of the store. “People were ripping the shrink wrap right off the pallet just to get at the fans,” Bigney said.

More immediate relief came in the form of ice and ice cream, according to local distributors of the frozen products.

“Our special deliveries have increased tenfold,” said Shaun Becsi, president of Fullerton’s Ice Creamery. “It’s been a nightmare, but we love it. It’s a good nightmare to have.”

Becsi said his sales have jumped 20% from last summer. During the heat wave, his store has emptied as many as 650 three-gallon tubs of ice cream and frozen yogurt each day, up from an average of about 475 tubs.

For ice companies, the heat wave is a mixed blessing. Business is up, but the machines keep running dry.

“We’re just running out, we can’t keep up with our business,” said a worker at Orange County Ice, noting that his company is importing ice from Las Vegas and Barstow to meet overflow orders.

Irma Perez, owner of the Associated Crystal Ice Co. in Fullerton agreed that the demand is difficult to meet. “Since it’s been hot, they can’t (always) supply me with ice,” Perez said of her distribution company. “It hurts business when you can’t supply people.”

Times staff writer Jodi Wilgoren contributed to this article.

Breaking 100: Orange County Sizzles

The mercury hit 100 in at least two cities Monday, as a heat wave continued to bake Orange County. Temperatures have been much higher than last year. Records are falling.

Sweltering August

The average temperature this August is about 7 degrees higher than last year. Humidity made things feel “hotter” earlier this month. Temperatures are for Santa Ana.

Average for 1992: 88 Average for 1991: 81.4

Record-Breaking Heat

During the past three days, high-temperature records have been broken or matched in Santa Ana.

August 13: 1992: 94 Record: 100 (Year record set 1983)

August 14: 1992: 94 Record: 97 (Year record set 1983)

August 15: 1992: 94 Record: 92 (Year record set 1958)

August 16: 1992: 94 Record: 94 (Year record set 1983)

August 17: 1992: 96 Record: 92 (Year record set 1957)

Thermometer Is Popping Inland

Monday highs from around the county: Anaheim: 101 Irvine: 100 Lake Forest: 98 Santa Ana: 96 San Juan Capistrano: 94 Newport Beach: 76 Source: WeatherData