If You Like It Hot, You'll Love Monrovia

By NORA ZAMICHOW and ERIC MALNIC

Aug. 17, 1994 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITERS

The whole Los Angeles area has been withering under record-shattering temperatures for more than a week now, and no place has suffered more than Monrovia.

Nestled against the foothills that border the San Gabriel Valley on the north, Monrovia has consistently been the hottest spot in the Los Angeles Basin, according to the official figures released each day by the National Weather Service. With an average high temperature of 105 during the last week, Monrovia residents have been struggling to beat the heat.

Even those lucky enough to take refuge indoors were having a hard time staying comfortable by Tuesday: Hardware stores had run out of fans, and air-conditioning equipment was in short supply. Desperate customers at one appliance store volunteered to drive to a Santa Fe Springs warehouse to get their air conditioner rather than wait a day for delivery.

For those outside, comfort was out of the question. The goal was mere survival.

Take Alfonso Pulido, for example.

On Tuesday, as the temperature in the shade peaked at 101 degrees, Pulido was out in the sun, shoveling 300-degree asphalt for a newly paved parking lot.

The heat shimmered off the fresh blacktop, scorching Pulido’s nostrils and searing the soles of his shoes.

“You feel like your feet are on fire,” he said. “From the knees down, it’s burning.”

For most who dwell in Monrovia--a city of almost 36,000, 15 miles northeast of Downtown Los Angeles--this is just another summer. Heat in Monrovia is like fog in London, and you don’t hear Brits mouthing off about that . In Monrovia, heat can be a point of honor.

“We are second only to Death Valley,” shop owner Keith Madison said proudly.

Monrovia’s problem is that it’s in the wrong place, said Curtis Brack, a meteorologist with WeatherData Inc.

“It’s pretty well inland, so it’s farther from the coast and the onshore breezes that cool off a lot of other cities,” he said. “It’s at a higher elevation than most--600 feet--and that also decreases the effects of the marine air, which tends to stay lower.

“Instead of clay soil, which absorbs heat better, Monrovia has sandy soil that reflects more heat, making the air temperature warmer,” Brack said. “And Monrovia’s on a south-facing slope, which means that it gets a little extra sunlight.”

Summing it up, Brack said that when it comes to hot weather, “Monrovia’s in the perfect location.”

Starting on Aug. 9, the high temperatures in Monrovia have been 102, 102, 106, 110, 108, 103, 105 and on Tuesday, 101.

There are other cities listed by the National Weather Service that approach Monrovia’s lead in the heat department, and there may be some contenders that are unlisted. Woodland Hills and Van Nuys actually beat Monrovia’s 102 reading Aug. 10 by one degree and unlisted cities like Northridge, Duarte, Azusa and Glendora might have too.

But when it comes to listed average high temperatures, Monrovia is the champ. Monrovia’s average high during the week that began Aug. 9 was 105, compared to 104 in Woodland Hills, 103 in Van Nuys and a measly 97 in Downtown Los Angeles.

Brack said the continuing heat is the product of a massive high-pressure weather system that has been locked over Central California, blocking out the normal flow of cooling, onshore breezes. He said this system should start moving east today, permitting more ocean breezes and setting off a gradual cooling trend.

But the key word is gradual. Brack’s predicted high temperature in Monrovia today is: 100 degrees.

For Monrovians, there are several rules of thumb for surviving such temperatures: Stay inside when possible. Drink plenty of fluids. Take showers.

“I’m up to three showers a day,” said Rick Moreno, a 40-year-old who had holed up in a Monrovia coffeehouse Tuesday, sipping water.

Kelly Tatosian, 38, had other ways of coping. It’s best to go barefoot, she advised. Stockings are out, with sandals and dresses the clothing of choice. The key, she said, is to keep your perspective.

“You know it doesn’t last long,” Tatosian said.

She said that to keep her two cats from overheating, she dunked them in the pool.

Lucky Monrovians, like Melodie Keefer, had a job in a cool place. Keefer works in a flower store. People came into her shop not even pretending that they were interested in the orchids or roses, she said. They had their eyes on only one thing--the huge walk-in refrigerator that chills the bouquets.

The less fortunate, like Pulido the paver, work outdoors.

Gary Mims, shirtless and dripping with sweat, was digging an irrigation ditch Tuesday. “Every day is a new heat adventure,” Mims sighed. “I only hope the next job we do is a pool job.”

Across town, contractor Al De La Peza was nailing up plywood on the frame of a house. “We are frying like bacon,” he said.

But for John Caputo, a telephone installer and repairman, the hottest part of his job is inside.

“When it’s 110 degrees outside, it’s 140 degrees in an attic,” Caputo said. “Installing a telephone can be miserable. It gets hot. Very, very hot.”

But many Monrovians merely shrugged at the heat.

“You try hard not to pay any attention to it,” said Michael Phelps, 16, one of the few residents to venture out on Monrovia’s streets in the shimmering heat. “It’s just a way of life.”

Times researcher Cecilia Rasmussen contributed to this story.

Tracking the Heat

Here is a look at how Monrovia compares to the highest reported temperatures in the Los Angeles area during the recent heat wave.

* Aug. 9

High: Monrovia 102

* Aug. 10

High: Woodland Hills and Van Nuys 103

Monrovia 102

* Thursday

High: Van Nuys 107

Monrovia 106

* Friday