Southland Continues to Sizzle

Spring fever turned into summer delirium throughout Southern California on Monday, with unseasonable heat expected to continue through the week, forecasters say.

But the heat wave that contributed to a handful of large fires in the Inland Empire over the weekend was not accompanied by winds, enabling firefighters to get the upper hand on the blazes while being spared new ones.

The high Monday at the Los Angeles Civic Center was 89 degrees, compared to the normal high for this time of year of 76 degrees.

Temperatures today will be in the low to mid-70s along the beaches, in the mid- to upper 80s downtown, above 100 in the inland valleys and topping 110 in Palm Springs.

Temperatures remained unseasonably high in much of Northern California and the Bay Area Air Quality Management District warned that ozone levels could exceed state health standards.

San Francisco’s high was 84, down from a sweltering 96 on Sunday. Scorching heat continued in Sacramento and Fresno, which had highs of 105 and 104, respectively.

The summerlike heat is attributed to a “very strong” dome of high pressure that extends from the Eastern Pacific into the Southern Rockies. “California is right in the middle of it,” said Curtis Brack, a meteorologist with WeatherData Inc., which provides weather forecasts for The Times.

The only relief came along the coast, where a slight onshore breeze delivered fog over some Southland beaches at midday. In Santa Monica, “It was real nice in the morning, then a huge fog bank rolled in and we’ve been playing the game, in and out,” said Los Angeles County senior lifeguard Fernando Boiteaux.

The heat left some people unexpectedly griping-- like Tom Kalomiris, whose Frosty Queen ice cream shop in Granada Hills was all but empty Monday.

“People stay indoors,” he said. “They stay in air-conditioning.”

Well, not everyone.

United Parcel Service deliveryman Rick Setina was delivering televisions at Nevada Avenue Elementary School in Canoga Park, and said he preferred the heat to rain, which can damage the goods.

“You drink a gallon of water a day at least,” he said.

Inside the school, fifth-grade teacher Barry Watnick was relying on a floor fan to cool his classroom, and had turned off the lights to reduce temperatures. Still, the thermometer on the classroom wall read 92 degrees.

The mercury hit 102 in Woodland Hills and some schools in the San Fernando Valley sent word Monday that they would dismiss students early today--something they could not do on Monday because they were not able to give parents 24 hours notice.

“People in prison would be crying ‘cruel and unusual punishment’ if they were subjected to these temperatures,” Watnick said. “And adults wouldn’t go to the supermarket or the shopping mall if they weren’t air conditioned. And yet these same adults forget about the kids who are forced to learn in these inhumane conditions a lot of the year.”

Grousing extended to Orange County as well. In Anaheim, 26-year-old hair stylist Vicki Robert complained that her apartment’s ceiling fan wasn’t working, the water from the shower spigot was too warm to deliver refreshment and the air conditioner in her pick-up truck went kaput. “Why today?” she moaned. “Why so damn hot?”

Still, despite the heat, hundreds of exhausted firefighters in Riverside County were claiming victory over a handful of fires that struck over the weekend.

The worst one, which broke out Saturday, destroyed five homes and damaged two others, along with three outbuildings, four sheds and 13 vehicles near Lake Elsinore before being contained Monday night. The 650-acre blaze, started by a spark from a lawn mower, caused an estimated $492,000 in damage.

Other fires that were expected to be contained by Monday night were a 1,100-acre blaze near Vail Lake, south of Hemet; an 800-acre fire north of Moreno Valley, and a 200-acre fire near Hemet. Eight firefighters fell ill from the heat or were otherwise hurt, including two who had close encounters with cactus needles.

The Associated Press, Times staff writers Lily Dizon and Lisa Leff and Times correspondent Nicholas Riccardi contributed to this story.