Record Heat Moves Through County

Ventura County residents may have been better off seeking refuge in some desert communities Tuesday, as record heat swept through the area’s valleys, mountains and coastal cities.

“What happens is a high-pressure system comes from the desert and heats up as it moves through the mountains and into our area. And it gets warm,” said meteorologist Curt Kaplan of the National Weather Service.

Warm winds from the east were credited with raising temperatures throughout the region. It is not unusual to have hot days in late April, which is generally the end of the season for Santa Ana winds, Kaplan said.

At Kaplan’s Oxnard office, the mercury reached 92 degrees, shattering the 1995 record of 86. In Simi Valley, the high was 94, busting the 90-degree record set in 1985. In Ojai, 94 degrees topped the 1965 high mark by one degree.

Sunny skies and slightly cooler temperatures, in the high 70s along the coast and upper 80s inland, were forecast for the remainder of the week and through the weekend.

So while the desert communities of Lancaster and Palmdale enjoyed breezy 80-degree weather Tuesday, Ventura County residents flipped on air-conditioning units inside homes and cars or hit the beach to cool off.

It was 93 in Camarillo, 85 in Thousand Oaks, 90 at Point Mugu and 83 in Ventura, the weather service reported.

More than 1,000 people were estimated to have sought relief at beaches just north and south of the Ventura Pier, said Spike Wessler, a state lifeguard in Ventura.

At the 365-student Simi Elementary School, Principal Aldo Calcagno said several teachers beat the heat by switching on air-conditioning units for the first time this year.

“The general consensus was that it was warm but it was a wonderful day,” Calcagno said.

Utility officials said they noticed a slight jump in power usage due to the heat and reminded residents to conserve as much as possible without breaking into a sweat.

“Don’t put yourself in a position of harming your health,” said Rudy Gonzales, a Southern California Edison regional manager in Thousand Oaks. “We suggest using major appliances early in the morning or later at night.”

Gonzales said state officials had anticipated the heat and expected Ventura County residents to use about 40,000 megawatts of power Tuesday. That amount was surpassed by a couple hundred megawatts, he said.

“The demand was a little bit higher because of the warmer than normal temperatures,” Gonzales said.

The heat sent the state into a Stage 2 emergency Tuesday, which is declared when electricity reserves fall below 5%. Utility companies are usually directed to interrupt power to some commercial and industrial customers during high-demand periods, but that did not occur this time, Gonzales said.