Blazing record Labor Day heat grips the Bay Area; Fairfield hits 117°

SAN FRANCISCO -- A massive heat dome parked over the southwest and stretching for thousands of miles will trigger record-shattering Labor Day temperatures with triple digits expected throughout the Bay Area.

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Advisories and warnings for hot weather for the Bay Area have been extended until Thursday evening by the National Weather Service. The region will see the hottest temperatures on Monday and Tuesday, forecasters said.

The excessive heat warning was issued for the interior of the Bay Area, where high temperatures are forecast in the upper 90s to near 115, Monday and Tuesday, with many inland areas staying well over 100 degrees through Thursday.

Monday evening, the heat advisory was extended to San Francisco as well.

By 6 a.m., San Jose already at 70 degrees and was predicted to reach a record-breaking 100 degrees later in the day.

"To put this late-summer heat in perspective, over 100 daily high temperature records could be set between today and Wednesday, with around 40 of those records potentially threatening September monthly extremes," the National Weather Service said on Monday. "Death Valley (the hottest location within the United States is forecast to reach 125 degrees on Tuesday. Excessive Heat Warnings and Heat Advisories have been issued for much of California and Nevada."

Forecasters said residents living away from the coast will be sweltering with triple digit temperatures the rest of the week.

"Residents should continue to follow proper heat safety and check in on family members and neighbors who may be more vulnerable to heat related illnesses," the weather service warned.

By late morning, parking lots at most Marin County beaches were already full, according to officials with the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Many San Francisco lots were also at or near capacity as people headed to the coast to cool off.

The heat and light winds has also prompted air district officials to extend a Spare the Air Alert through Tuesday.  

By noon it was already pushing double digits, but that didn't seem to dissuade 11-year-old Awurama Obletom from Oakland, whose family was enjoying a picnic on the grass at Todos Santos Plaza.

"Even if it's hot, it's like a nice day," said Awurama. "So, I mean, at least we're outside and not cooped up in the house watching TV."

By 1:30 the National Weather Service said the temp had climbed to 106.  But there are some who simply can't avoid it. Robert Waterman lives on the streets and on this day, he bought a bag of ice to put on his chest when it gets too much.

"It feels like an oven," he said. "I sweat. I have to take off my shirt or I suffocate."

Later, it would get to 111 degrees, as Concord offered its Senior Center as a spot to cool off.  At a sublime 72 degrees, the center offered an escape for Dolores Conners. On Saturday, she was overcome by the heat and ended up in the emergency room.

"And they put me on the heart machine to make sure I was ok--my heart was doing ok. Then they sent me here by cab," she said.  "Yeah, that was beautiful."

As of 2 p.m., KPIX Chief Meteorologist Paul Heggen said the temperature in Fairfield had hit 112° with Livermore coming in at a distant second as far as local hot temps at 107°. Both Santa Rosa and Petaluma in the North Bay hit 106°, while Napa and Concord shared the 104° mark

KPIX photojournalist Brian Yuen said the mercury hit 110° in Pleasanton Monday afternoon, but there were reports of the temperature there being as high as 113° online. 

San Francisco and Santa Cruz were both a balmy -- for those cities -- 89° in the early afternoon (SF later topped out at 91°), while Half Moon Bay and Pacifica were a much more comfortable 72° and 79°, respectively.

By 5 p.m., a number of all-time records for the date had been set across the Bay Area. It was 117° in Fairfield (that measurement was taken at Travis AFB), 116° in Livermore, and 112° at the Sonoma County airport. Santa Rosa hit 112°, shattering the old record of 104°. All-time records were also set in Oakland (100°), San Jose (104°) and Redwood City (an astonishing 107°).

The triple digit conditions throughout much of California will be putting a severe strain on the power grid, so chances of power outages will grow in the coming days.

Officials issued a statewide Flex Alert Monday. The alert for Labor Day is the sixth consecutive day that the California Independent System Operator has called for voluntary electricity conservation during peak usage hours, from 4 to 10 p.m.

Energy demand is expected to outpace supply starting Monday evening, and predictions for Tuesday show the state rivaling its all-time high for electricity demand, said Elliot Mainzer, president and chief executive officer of the California Independent System Operator.

"This is about to get significantly more intense," Mainzer told reporters.

The system operator is in charge of managing and maintaining reliability on the electric grid, a challenging job during hot weather when energy demand soars as people crank up their air conditioners.

Grid managers have several options available before power outages, like tapping backup generators, buying more power from other states and using so-called demand response programs, where people are paid to use less energy. But keeping the lights on will also require Californians to continue conserving as they have been, even as temperatures rise.

During the day, California's energy grid runs on a mix of mostly solar and natural gas, as well as some imports of power from other states. But solar power begins to fall off during the late afternoon and into the evening, which is the hottest time of day in some parts of the state.

Thousands escaped the heat by heading to the coast. A popular destination was Stinson Beach which was jammed with visitors on Sunday.

Cars on Highway 1 inched along. Some people parked their cars along the highway and walked a couple of miles into town. They said it was faster.

"This is one of our busiest weekends in years with the heat wave and we really appreciate everyone coming out. This parking lot has been flooded for the past couple of days and people are parking illegally but it's been good for our business," said Kimmy Haines at Live Water Surf Shop in Stinson Beach.

But the heat was also bringing with it the deadly threat of wildfires in the drought parched hills, forests and fields. Two people have died in the Mill Fire which has devastated the Siskiyou community of Weed.

John Ramos contributed to this report.