It’s L.A.’s Turn for a Punishing Heat Wave

Southern Californians, who usually have weather bragging rights, should prepare for the great leveler: a heat wave promising 100-degree-plus temperatures that will make residents of many communities almost as miserable as their countrymen.

Climatologists say the same kind of weather that has made the past six months the nation’s hottest on record--causing 16 deaths in Dallas and fanning the flames of Florida wildfires--is likely to have fewer serious effects here.

Nevertheless, for climate-privileged Californians, the air is about to become very uncomfortable.

Forecasters on Wednesday predicted abnormally warm temperatures at least through Sunday, with the mercury reaching the 105- to 110-degree mark in the San Fernando and San Gabriel valleys by Sunday and Monday.

Temperatures were already several degrees above normal across the state Wednesday, with downtown Los Angeles reporting a high of 87 degrees, San Francisco 81, Sacramento 96 and Palm Springs 115.

In a remote desert community about 100 miles east of San Diego, a 72-year-old man who was living in a trailer without air conditioning amid temperatures of up to 110 degrees died from heat exposure, authorities said. An autopsy showed that “environment hyperthermia” killed Neal Hicks, whom a neighbor found unconscious in his trailer Saturday.

Imperial County coroner’s investigator Jesse Lopez said Hicks was the first person in the Imperial Valley this year to die of heat exposure while inside a residence. By this time last summer, three people in the county had died from heat exposure in their homes, with two more such deaths occurring later in the season. Lopez said all cases involved elderly people with chronic illnesses.

Wes Etheredge, a meteorologist at WeatherData Inc., which provides forecasting information for The Times, said the heat wave could last through the end of next week.

Temperatures are expected to stay slightly above normal today and Friday, with a very slight cool-down Saturday, Etheredge said.

But by Sunday and Monday, the heat will be up with a vengeance, with temperatures expected to be in the 90s in downtown Los Angeles and as high as 125 in the low desert.

Although the above-average temperatures in California mirror trends throughout the country--for example, the hot, dry conditions that have parched Texas and the Southeast--weather experts say the heat here is the result of a different phenomenon.

During the past two days, an area of upper-level high pressure centered over southern Nevada has gained enough strength to begin to affect California and the rest of the West.

In general, high-pressure systems cause air to sink, warming as it falls. With temperatures in the current system already high, the sinking air is getting even warmer and sending that hot air right down to the surface, Etheredge said.

The forecast has everyone from firefighters to weekend workers bracing themselves.

Capt. Justin DeMello of the Los Angeles County Fire Department said officials would be watching the weather and potential hot spots very closely.

“There’s no alert yet,” he said. “It’s on the minds of all the chiefs and personnel, and we’re prepared to take the proper action if in fact the heat does come as planned.”

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power said that although it does not foresee any energy shortages, customers should do their best to conserve power in case the heat wave drags on and drains resources.

Millie Rose, preparing an exhibit today for a weekend gift show at the Los Angeles Convention Center, was worried about just such a conservation plan.

She said the center’s air conditioning is turned on only after the booths are set up and ready to go. That means miserable hours of work preparing all the necessary displays.

Convention center officials said they had little choice, since any air conditioning would rush right out the giant freight doors the exhibitors prop open to bring in their display units and wares.

“I’m worried about it,” Rose said. “It’s very uncomfortable.”

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KEEPING COOL: Experts offer advice on how to reduce health risks from extreme heat. B6