Photos:: Southern California summer heat wave

Emiliano Mendez Perez, 1 1/2, cools off as he plays with his family in the East Fork of the San Gabriel Valley River in Azusa.

Cecilia Rodriguez wipes the sweat from her brow while waiting under the blazing sun for her son to pick her up after work at Pershing Square in downtown Los Angeles.

Shay Maria, from Sherman Oaks, center, runs the Santa Monica stairs near Entrada Drive.

A woman takes shelter from the sun under an umbrella while waiting for the bus at the corner of 5th and Hill streets in downtown Los Angeles.

At least one person took shelter from the sun under the shade of an umbrella while waiting for the bus at the corner of 5th and Hill streets in downtown Los Angeles.

As temperatures reached around 100 degrees, kids play in the cool waters of the East Fork of the San Gabriel River in Azusa.

Rita Title, left, and Win Ledesma eat ice cream in the shade at Cheviot Hills Community Center.

On a hot August day, Miles La Tourrette-Ghez, 10, shoots the basketball while his friend Brayden Houston, 10, watches at Cheviot Hills Community Center.

The sun rises behind the “Giant Wheel” at the Irvine Spectrum Center on the first of several days of above-average heat and humidity in Southern California.

Marilin Anazco of Los Angeles sleeps in the shade as her father cools off in the East Fork of the San Gabriel Valley River in Azusa.