Danger in the forecast

Temperatures hit triple digits across valley and desert regions of Southern California on Tuesday, as weather forecasters predicted the first heat wave of the summer could produce record-setting heat later this week.

The National Weather Service issued red flag fire alerts as well as an advisory for extreme heat for the second straight day, predicting that the heat wave could extend into the weekend.

Several weeks of triple-digit temperatures last summer killed more than 100 people around the state, most of them elderly residents of the Central Valley.

Hoping to prevent a repeat this year, officials are opening “cooling centers” and urging neighbors and family members to check on elderly people.

“Things are going to get pretty toasty,” said Bonnie Bartling, a weather specialist for the National Weather Service.

Beach lifeguards were bracing for trouble as warm coastal waters combined with unusually high surf and dangerous rip currents. The beaches were packed last weekend, and officials worry that crowds will only grow in the next few days.

Laguna Beach lifeguards expect about 60,000 people today, with 75 lifeguards patrolling over the 18-hour holiday period.

“Our fear,” said Mark Klosterman, the city’s chief of marine safety, “is the public is going to overwhelm the number of rescuers.”

At Huntington City Beach, where up to 130,000 people are expected to cram onto 3.5 miles of sand today, lifeguards have been gearing up for huge crowds and high surf, said marine safety Lt. Mike Beuerlein.

“Everyone’s been calling it that, ‘the perfect storm,’ ” he said, “though I don’t like that because there’s nothing perfect about it. These are really hazardous conditions.”

Newport Beach is extending patrol unit hours and the amount of time towers are manned; it’s also bumping up the number of lifeguards from 65 to about 90, said Rob Williams, lifeguard battalion chief.

The city is expecting about 100,000 beachgoers, since “we’re one of the last free forms of entertainment,” Williams said.

The hottest temperatures are forecast for the Antelope Valley, where the mercury is expected to soar as high as 112 today and 114 Thursday. The hottest July 4 on record in Lancaster was 109, set in 1991, the same year Palmdale hit 110.

Temperatures could decline by two to five degrees by the weekend.

“It will be cooler, relatively speaking,” Bartling said.

Even if there were no heat wave, Southern California fire officials would be on full alert. They say the combination of moisture-starved brush and excessive heat colliding with a holiday typically marked by fireworks could prove combustible. The region has already marked its driest rain season on record.

“It’s no different than what we’ve worried about for months,” said Orange County Fire Authority Capt. Stephen Miller. But with the holiday, he added, there are “thousands of ignition sources.”

In recent weeks, firefighters have doused several small vegetation fires that fireworks sparked.

“You’ll hear firefighters talk about everything being in alignment for a big one,” he said. “That’s where we are right now, with explosive conditions.”

Electricity providers were also on edge. A plane crashed into electrical wires in San Diego County on Tuesday, killing two people and adding to a loss of power-generating capacity that prompted operators of the state’s power grid to call for statewide conservation. In Los Angeles, the Department of Water and Power generated 5,300 megawatts of power to its customers, a record for the year.

The San Diego County Water Authority issued a plea late Tuesday for the county’s 3 million residents to reduce water usage during daylight hours or risk mandatory cutbacks. The region’s treatment plants are running at maximum capacity as the soaring heat drives up water usage.

Across the Southland, people are learning to cope with the sizzling temperatures.

In Riverside, 100-degree temperatures Tuesday afternoon didn’t stop Alan Gray, 50, of Nuevo from parking his truck at Mt. Rubidoux Park and walking along the Santa Ana River Trail for 90 minutes. He wore a baseball cap and sunglasses and carried a bottle of water.

“I work outdoors so I know to hydrate and take it easy,” said Gray, who trains Arabian horses. “I find a little shade and take a break when I get tired.”

Water deliveryman Chris Thorne, 43, said he sips ice-cold bottles of water along his routes during the summer. Unlimited access to refreshing water is one of the perks of the job.

“I freeze my bottles the night before and they thaw out through the day,” he said. “It’s tough, but I’ve been doing this for 23 years. I wear a hat and move slowly. You can’t rush.”

At Riverside’s Cesar Chavez Community Center in the Bobby Bonds Sports Complex, youth swimming lessons continued in the afternoon despite the heat.

“Well, if there’s a place to beat the heat, I guess it would be with the help of a lot of water,” said Frankie Villalobos, 35, as he watched his daughter Meghan in the pool.

Some were not deterred by the temperature.

Antonio Richard, 13, stood under the scorching sun and over baking concrete, shooting a basketball by himself.

He is entering Long Beach Poly High in the fall and hopes to make the school’s basketball team.

“I can’t let the heat or sun make me stop working hard,” he said. “If it’s between being a little hot and playing on the squad, I pick the squad.”

Staff at the four senior citizens cooling centers in Los Angeles said participation was sparse Tuesday. Most of the bottles of water given out were taken by seniors who already happened to be at the centers for other activities.

“Maybe there won’t be a lot of people today, because it takes a while for the word to get out,” said Cassidy Guilfoyle, a recreation assistant at the Canoga Park center. “Today, unless they came to lunch and heard the announcement, most seniors don’t know.”

But even if the program had been publicized, many seniors would have had trouble reaching the centers, staff members said. With many seniors relying on public transportation or walking, the trip to the centers would be too hot to bear, they said.

david.pierson@latimes.com

ashley.powers@latimes.com

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Times staff writers Sara Lin, Jonathan Abrams, Maeve Reston, Tiffany Hsu and Tami Abdollah contributed to this report.

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Life-saving tips

Forecasters predict extreme heat inland and rip current conditions at the beaches. Here are some safety tips.

If caught in a rip current:

Remain calm to conserve energy and think clearly.

Never fight the current.

Think of it like a treadmill that cannot be turned off. You need to step to the side of it.

Swim out of the current in a direction following the shoreline. When out of the current, swim at an angle away from the current and toward shore.

If you are unable to swim out of the rip current, float or calmly tread water. When out of the current, swim toward shore.

If you are still unable to reach shore, wave your arms and yell for help.

If you see someone in trouble, don’t become a victim too:

Get help from a lifeguard.

If a lifeguard is not available, have someone call 911.

Throw something that floats -- a life jacket, a cooler, an inflatable ball -- to the person caught in the current.

Yell escape instructions.

Remember, many people drown while trying to save someone else from a rip current.

Signs of heatstroke

An extremely high body temperature (above 103)

Red, hot and dry skin, but no sweating

Rapid, strong pulse

Throbbing headache

Dizziness

Nausea

Confusion

Loss of consciousness

Source: National Weather Service; U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

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Surf and rescue

Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to visit Southern California beaches today to

celebrate the Fourth of July and escape soaring inland temperatures. Here’s a sample of rescue statistics fom various beach agencies in 2006.

*--* Preventive Beaches run by: Attendance Rescues actions Huntington Beach 10.1 million 2,042 120,812 Laguna Beach 4.2 million 4,087 193,167 Los Angeles 1.5 million 100 15,031 Los Angeles County 45.5 million 10,101 948,275 Newport Beach 7.6 million 3,916 84,949 Oceanside 5.9 milion 2,695 102,348 San Clemente 2.8 million 3,836 26,127 Ventura County 62,000 127 837

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NOTE: A rescue involves a lifeguard physically moving a person in danger to safety. A preventive action is when a lifeguard warns someone who could be in danger.

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Source: United States Lifesaving Assn.