Inland Valleys Top the 100 Mark : Weather: Ojai is the county’s hot spot with a reading of 105. High smog levels didn’t materialize but are expected today, along with the heat.

Children headed for swimming holes and many elderly residents stayed indoors Thursday as temperatures topped 100 degrees in inland valleys, and forecasters called for more hot weather today.

Ojai won the designation as the hottest spot in the county with a reading of 105, while Fillmore came in second with 104 and Simi Valley and Moorpark were close behind at 100.

The hot weather was expected to continue through the weekend, bringing smoggy, unhealthy air along with it.

The sweltering temperatures and stagnant air prompted county air quality officials to issue a health advisory warning for Simi Valley and Moorpark residents to stay indoors during the hottest, most smog-intensive hours of the afternoon Thursday.

But the inversion layer that trapped the smog dissipated before the afternoon was over and smog levels fell into the moderate zone--well below the unhealthy range, according to Kent Field, Ventura County Air Pollution Control District meteorologist.

“We had all the right conditions for smog,” Field said.

“It mellowed a bit today, but we expect smog levels to go back up again tomorrow.”

Thursday’s advisory predicting high ozone levels for the day prompted recreation officials to keep children out of the full-day sun.

“We’ve curtailed activities at all our programs,” said Rick Johnson, a spokesman for the Rancho Simi Recreation and Parks District.

“The kids are down by the pool cooling off, or in the shade doing sponge tosses.”

In Ojai, most of the 35 elderly residents at The Manner stayed indoors with the air conditioning running, said administrator Gil Marcello.

“Of course some of them like the heat and go out on the porch anyway,” he said. “But I advise them to stay inside on a day like this.”

The San Fernando Valley also suffered under extreme temperatures, sending scores of residents to air-conditioned shopping malls and back-yard swimming pools to escape near-record heat.

On Thursday, Burbank matched a 48-year record, reaching 106 degrees by midafternoon. The temperature in Van Nuys topped at 110 degrees, and Palmdale and Lancaster both reached 106. But at Zuma Beach, where temperatures remained in the upper 60s, lifeguard Chris Hammond said an estimated 50,000 people sought refuge on the sand.

“It’s probably the busiest day we’ve seen, barring the Fourth of July,” he said.

Ventura and other spots along the coast also remained temperate--with the mercury stopping in the mid-70s.

Temperatures were expected to stay moderate along the coast and hot inland throughout the weekend. By Monday and Tuesday, the heat and smog were expected to abate slightly.

Thursday’s health advisory, the fourth this year, was issued when ozone pollution was expected to climb above 131 on the Pollution Standard Index. Any reading over 100 is considered unhealthy, under federal standards.

Instead, air quality stayed below 80 on the index throughout the county and was expected to remain good along the coast. But inland valleys were expected to be hit with high ozone readings beginning today.

The smoggy mass that hung over the Oxnard Plain early Thursday morning was pushed out to Simi Valley and Moorpark in the afternoon as the sea breeze picked up, said Gary Arcemont, meteorologist with the Ventura County Air Pollution Control District.

A light wind from the southeast brought smoggy air in from Los Angeles, which mixed with locally produced pollution, Arcemont said. That made all the right conditions for smog.

But when the inversion layer temporarily burned off, the smog was dispersed.

The heat and smog weren’t good news for Simi Valley businessman Ted Wheeler.

By 9 a.m. Thursday, the temperature was already 90 degrees in Simi Valley and it was 100 by the afternoon.

The hot dog vendor, who stood under a large umbrella at Los Angeles Avenue and Sycamore Drive wearing a hat, sunglasses, a tank-top and brightly colored surf trunks, had only one customer by midday Thursday.

“Well I’m used to it,” said the 57-year-old former telephone company employee, who has worked at the corner for three years. But he added, “The heat isn’t good for business. On days like this, people don’t want to come out of their air-conditioned offices for a hot dog.”

In Thousand Oaks, Linda Clark-Tobias of Westlake escaped the heat and a malfunctioning air conditioner by bringing her two sons to the pool at the Westlake Bay Condominiums.

“This is the best place to be,” she said as she lounged in the shade by the pool, watching her 9- and 8-year-old dive across the pool to catch a plastic football.

Correspondents Scott Hadly and Lisa M. Bowman contributed to this story.