Working up a head of steam

The heat is on in Southern California. Just ask roofers, officers directing traffic, car washers, outdoor repairmen and laborers of all kinds.

With the first day of summer hitting today, outdoor workers were already coping with 100-degree temperatures and higher Friday. Weather records were being broken. Employers were scrambling to make sure workers had enough water and shade. And state officials warned this may be only the beginning.

“It’s going to be hotter this summer,” said Len Welsh, chief of the state’s worker safety agency Cal/OSHA, which released an advisory for employers reminding them to take precautions during extreme weather.

There have been three worker deaths from the heat already this year in California, he noted, “which is not good -- so many so soon.” In 2006, there were eight such deaths, and two more in 2007.

“We’re not going to let it go on,” he vowed. “We’re going to keep going after it.”

On Friday, temperatures soared past 100 degrees in many spots, with a record 111 in Woodland Hills. Burbank tied its 1973 record of 106 degrees. The thermometer hit 97 downtown, 100 in Pasadena, 103 in Anaheim and 109 in Chino.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger called on state agencies to prepare for extremely high temperatures over the weekend.

“I have directed my Office of Emergency Services to coordinate with state and local agencies and do everything we can to ensure personal safety for all Californians during high temperatures today through the weekend,” the governor said in a written statement.

Early Friday morning, outdoor laborers were already breaking a sweat. In Glassell Park, electrician Mike Calame was lathered in perspiration as he spoke from a 4-foot hole drilled into a sidewalk. “Look at me, I’m pouring right now,” he said.

He and co-worker Jeff Flannery were helping with the installation of a traffic light. They typically work 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. to avoid the hottest part of the afternoon. During the day, Calame checks surf conditions by phone, and to beat the heat he heads straight for the ocean at the end of the workday.

“I check the surfline on my breaks,” he said with a chuckle. “And if it’s good, I load that truck and boogie.”

While many anxiously await a chance to cool off, some workers were undeterred by the heat. With the sun beating down on him, David Heney, 67, sought refuge under the nearby trees as he took a break from his job tending the cricket fields in Van Nuys.

“I’m nuts,” the retired business owner said. “There’s an old saying from years ago that only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun. I like the heat.”

Hailing from Australia, Heney retired in 1999 and now splits his time between the United States and his native country. For nine months out of the year he works as the “curator” of the Leo Magnus Cricket Complex in Van Nuys, preparing the playing field for the league games on weekends.

At Glenrock Car Wash in Eagle Rock on Friday morning, customers had barely begun trickling in when workers noticed the temperature. Manager Tom Herrera declared, “I’m pretty hot. But if you start thinking about it, then you feel it. As long as we’re busy, we don’t notice the heat.”

Jenny Day has been directing traffic for five years in Los Angeles. Every day from 4 to 6 p.m., she alternates with other officers at the intersection of Washington Avenue and Soto Street. “Our supervisors bring us water out to the middle of the intersection,” she said. “At 5 p.m. we get a break so we’re not out there for the full two hours at the intersection.”

Hot days like Thursday and Friday are a challenge for California’s biggest private and public employers, who often have large crews working outside.

At Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, where the high temperature was 101 degrees by noon Friday, worker stations were stocked with ice bags and jugs of water to keep workers in good shape.

“We have an operations crew that all they do is drive around delivering ice and water to every single workstation in the park,” said Sue Carpenter, public relations manager at the theme park. “We really encourage our workers to hydrate and to take their breaks.”

Southern California Gas Co., the nation’s largest gas utility, employs many workers who spend their entire day outdoors. Spokeswoman Denise King emphasized the importance of ensuring that they remain hydrated throughout the day.

“It’s our policy to provide training on heat illness prevention in addition to emphasizing breaks and adequate consumption of water,” she said, “so they can stay hydrated during periods of soaring temperatures.”

Workers at Rey’crest Roofing in Glassell Park stop if it gets too hot. They’ll call it a day and wait until it gets cooler, said supervisor John Camarena. “Our guys, they carry with them two water jugs, some ice, first aid kits and usually have a meeting in the morning before they go on roof. . . . If it gets too hot, we pull off.”

The crews at Southern California Edison, the electric utility based in Rosemead, will work in almost every weather condition to make sure generating units function properly and adequately. But they take precautions first, spokesman Paul Klein said.

“During periods of peak demand, Edison crews do make sure they take precaution against the heat, get enough water to drink and make sure they are working in as safe a condition as possible,” Klein said.

As demonstrated by recent events, high temperatures can be a threat to life. Last month, a 17-year-old farmworker named Maria Isabel Vasquez Jimenez died, and California occupational safety authorities called it a heat-related fatality. The United Farm Workers called her treatment an “egregious” violation of safety regulations that went into effect three years ago.

Hers was one of the three on-the-job deaths that occurred this year because of the heat. The 17-year-old worked for the Solis Farm Labor Contractor of Galt, near Sacramento. Another victim worked for the Ruben Seeds Co. in San Diego, and the other died May 16 in Van Nuys.

“This type of temperature is always a serious threat,” said Cal/OSHA’s Welsh. “People tend to think of hot weather as a pain in the neck, but they don’t think of it as deadly.

“People can die, people can get very sick. Employees should have shade and ample amounts of water. You can sweat out a quart of water in an hour, so your body can be depleted very rapidly.”

State regulations say employers must provide their outdoor employees accessible, clean drinking water and proper shade or cooling areas. Employers also should encourage each employee to drink four 8-ounce cups of fresh water an hour. Some early signs of heat illness to watch for, the state said, are headaches, muscle cramps and unusual fatigue.

Regulations ensuring employee safety began in 1989, when California adopted the Injury and Illness Prevention Program. In 2005, a heat illness prevention regulation was added requiring outdoor employers to provide training, water and shade as well as an emergency response system.

The penalties for not heeding the regulations range from $100 to $75,000, depending on the nature of the violation, according to Dean Fryer, deputy director of communications in the Department of Industrial Relations.

“If we find an employer who has not trained employees and is not providing water and shade -- that could jeopardize the safety of the employee, so the penalty could be much harder,” Fryer said.

One of the stiffest penalties is a “willful citation,” which is given to employers who were aware of the hazard but failed to act anyway. Schwarzenegger recently said his administration would increase its efforts to ensure compliance with the program’s regulations.

“Employers or labor contractors who do not comply with the heat illness prevention standards,” he said, “will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.”

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conor.sanchez@latimes.com

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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Hot rules

California employers are required to take these four steps to prevent heat illness.

Training

Train all employees and supervisors about heat illness prevention.

Water

Provide enough fresh water so that each employee can drink at least 1 quart per hour and encourage them to do so.

Shade

Provide access to shade for at least 5 minutes of rest when an employee believes he or she needs a preventive recovery period. They should not wait until they feel sick to do so.

Planning

Develop and implement written procedures for complying with Cal/OSHA Heat Illness Prevention Standard.

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Source: Cal/OSHA