Triple-digit temperatures scorched much of San Diego County Saturday, sending swarms of sometimes-masked people to local beaches, others into air-conditioned libraries, and fire departments on red-flag alert.
It was the beginning of Labor Day weekend, and people labored, all right.
El Cajon hit 114 degrees and Alpine reached 113 — the highest temperatures ever recorded in those communities — while Ramona got to 112 and San Diego State University topped out at 105, according to the National Weather Service. On Saturday, San Diego International Airport hit 91 while Del Mar reached 90 and Carlsbad topped out at 88. Imperial Beach, at 78, felt almost arctic.
“Pretty much everything east of the 163 freeway is 100 or higher,” said Alex Tardy, a National Weather Service forecaster. Sunday is expected to bring more of the same, and an excessive heat warning is in place for the entire county until 8 p.m. Monday.
Saturday’s peaks were about 15 to 25 degrees above normal. A slight Santa Ana added to the misery and contributed to the rapid spread of a brush fire near Alpine that had consumed more than 1,500 acres by dusk.
High temperatures also prompted the county to open “cooling zones” in nine East County libraries. They will open again Sunday from noon to 5 p.m., officials said.
Swarms of people headed to the coast Saturday, plopping down towels and popping up umbrellas on the sand from Oceanside to the Silver Strand.
Public health officials, mindful of how coronavirus cases spiked after Memorial Day, encouraged people to avoid crowds this weekend, but that advice was little match for the desire to find relief from the heat. At the beaches, the busier it got, the more optional the social-distancing seemed to be.
Many people wore masks as they walked to and from beaches, but once they hit the sand the face coverings mostly disappeared.
It was crowded in the water, too. The surfing line-up on the north side of the Crystal Pier in Pacific Beach had about three-dozen people in it at noon Saturday. The water was warm enough that roughly half of the surfers weren’t wearing wetsuits.
On the south side of the pier, stretching down to Mission Beach, scores of people frolicked in the waves.
Up on the pier, Pamela Taylor eyed the throngs with gratitude. She owns the bait and tackle shop there and is eager for more business after the coronavirus shuttered the shop for 82 days in the spring.
“We’re still down about two-thirds from where we were, but I’m grateful for whatever I can get,” she said as she rinsed out a white plastic bucket used by one of her pier-fishing customers.
The boardwalk in Oceanside was jammed with people, many who weren’t wearing anti-Covid masks. The same was true at the beaches and coves along Mission Bay.
In Balboa Park, several museums opened last week after pandemic restrictions were eased, just in time for the holiday weekend, but it was hot there, too, and by late morning, not many people were around. The parking lots had plenty of spaces.
Shane Boudreau was keeping his fingers crossed that things would pick up. He sells ice cream from a cart at the west end of the Prado.
He lives in Chula Vista and started his day at 6:30 a.m.. After getting frozen treats from his distributor, he was in the park by 9 a.m. Dry ice was keeping the ice cream sandwiches, Bomb Pops and fruit bars frosty.
Before the pandemic, he said, he worked in the park six days a week. Recently it’s been just two: Saturday and Sunday. But the gradual re-opening of the museums has him hopeful for better times ahead.
“I’m OK with the heat,” he said. “It usually means I’m going to have a good day.”
Similar conditions are expected on Sunday, and coastal temperatures could tick a bit higher if the Santa Anas flow all of the way to local beaches.
The conditions are so severe the weather service has imposed an excessive heat warning that will be in effect until 8 p.m. on Monday, Labor Day. And a red flag fire weather warning will be in place until 6 p.m. Sunday.
The 114 degree reading in El Cajon broke the city’s all-time record by seven degrees. The previous record was set in 1984. The 113 reading in Alpine broke the all-time record by 3 degrees. That record also was set in 1984.
The 112 reading in Ramona broke the record for September 5 by 10 degrees. The earlier record was set 2006. Palomar Mountain reached 97, one degree higher than the previous record for September 5, set in 1955. Campo reached 108, four degrees higher than the previous record for that date, set in 1955. And Borrego Springs hit 117, breaking the previous record for the date by four degrees. The previous record was set in 1989.
