As local temperatures hover at nearly
100 degrees, some Gilroy residents are finding it difficult to
stay cool
Gilroy – The forecast for the rest of the week: Hot.
While the area hasn’t reached record highs residents are finding it hard not to notice the scorching temperatures of the past few days. And if the National Weather Service is correct it will only be getting hotter.
“Would you believe warm?” said National Weather Service forecaster Diana Henderson sarcastically about the likely temperature for Wednesday. “It may be slightly cooler but you might not notice.”
According to Henderson, the temperature will probably surpass slightly 100 degrees by Saturday. And for some residents that might be a problem.
Bob Miller was walking in front of D-Mart, off of 10th Street, with his two children Olivia and Jeffrey. As he was explaining that he has been trying to keep his kids inside as much as possible 2-year-old Olivia became sick and threw up on the sidewalk.
“I guess the heat affected us,” Miller said. “I don’t think she’s been getting enough sleep because of the heat. She wasn’t able to sleep last night.”
Gilroy and Morgan Hill hit a high of 96 degrees while Hollister was 10 degrees cooler. But it’s not only South County that is dealing with the extreme heat, across the nation temperatures climbed up to the 90s and topped 100 degrees in some cities.
The soaring heat was blamed for 12 deaths, from South Dakota, where a hiker collapsed, to Pennsylvania, where a man with cerebral palsy died after apparently being left in a sweltering van.
Jim Dempsey, a paramedic for the Gilroy Fire Department, said they went out to two heat related calls during the day, although none were serious.
Rose Arellano, a nurse for the South County section of the Santa Clara Department of Health, said there are ways to keep yourself healthy through these sweltering days. She said Miller was doing the right thing by keeping his kids inside as much as possible. She added that everyone should be drinking more fluids and wear as much light clothing as possible.
“You can get heat stroke,” Arellano said of one negative aspect of not heeding her warning. “Your body cannot tolerate that much heat. When your body cannot tolerate the heat you can pass out.”
She said that children and the elderly should pay special attention to keeping themselves cool during this hot spell.
Although Arellano may be giving good advice there are some people who cannot help but be stuck in the heat all day.
Jaime Lopez, Javier Shlimovitch and Adalberto Relles were taking their lunch break in the shade on the side of Garlic City Billiards, trying to grab some much needed time out of the heat they said.
“The heat is tough,” Lopez said. “We’re laying down (metal) pipes and you have to wear gloves because the pipes are so hot.”
Lopez said that it’s hotter in the “trench” and that there is no shade for them anywhere as they work on the streets in downtown Gilroy.
“We get to the point that we try to spit but we can’t because there’s just nothing there,” he said, adding that he and his co-workers drink as much liquid as possible and drink whatever they can – except beer that is.
Shlimovitch said that they don’t wait until they get home to get some much needed relief.
“We jump in the truck and turn on the air conditioner,” he said.
Greg Kosobud said the heat has been almost unbearable and that he can’t wait to get home to crank up the air conditioner. He said that he feels for the guys who have to work outside in these temperatures and considers himself slightly luckier since he lays tile inside homes.
“There’s just nothing you can do when it gets this hot,” Kosobud said. “I usually try to wake up early on weekends so I can enjoy some of the day.”
But not everyone is finding a problem with the heat. Jackie Jimenez, who was spending part of her day downtown on her cell phone, said that she just throws on a tank top and shorts and enjoys the sun.
“I want to get a tan so I don’t really mind it,” she said.
