Inland Bay Area communities get ready for blistering weekend heat
SAN RAMON -- Across much of the Bay Area people are getting ready for extreme hot weather to hit this weekend. Inland East Bay areas are forecast to reach triple digits.
Kids enjoying the fountains at San Ramon's Central Park had the feature all to themselves on Thursday but it is expected to be packed this weekend.
It won't be just the kids trying to cool off. At Happy Hollow Zoo in San Jose, they're readying mist-sprayers and air conditioning to help animals beat the heat.
"When it does get really hot, we like to give them things like ice treats. Make sure they have cool places to rest. Shade in their areas. As well as give them indoor access so they have access to their air conditioning or whatever cooling mechanism that we have," said Rachel Atkins with Happy Hollow Zoo.
Air conditioners will be running on high in many parts of the Bay Area. If it's your first time turning it on this season, Rick Seymore from Ace Hardware says it's probably a good idea to get your air conditioner looked at as soon as possible.
"People don't run the AC all winter (then) they turn it on right then and it overheats and pops out," Seymore said.
He is talking about the capacitor which is key to keep your AC running. Triple-digit highs are expected to hit much of the state but California ISO says it doesn't expect to issue Flex Alerts this weekend.
According to Severin Borenstein with Energy Institute at Haas on the UC Berkeley campus, last winter's storms are helping to keep us cool this summer.
"We also have had good news from the rainfall we had during g the winter and the snowpack which means we have a lot of hydro power. Much more than we had last year," Borenstein explained.
If you don't have an air conditioning, the California Office of Emergency Services is urging residents, especially the elderly, to seek out cooling centers. In Contra Costa County, cooling centers will be set up in Antioch and Brentwood.