Southern Californians say 'water is the key' to surviving first summer heat wave
As the first heat wave of summer reached its anticipated peak Tuesday afternoon, Southern California residents employed a variety of methods to keep cool amid the swelter.
From the Pacific Coast to the Inland Empire, children and adults sought relief in air conditioned malls, libraries and movie theaters, while others lounged in pools or on the beach.
Meanwhile, those who worked outside the shelter of climate-controlled office buildings guzzled water in a desperate attempt to stay hydrated.
"The water is key," said Tawny Auer, 28, as her sons Carter, 2, and Shane, 3, played at the Palm Desert Aquatic Center.
"For the next two and a half weeks this is where we'll be," she said as her boys splashed each other and slid beneath water fountains.
In the Los Angeles neighborhood of Beverlywood, David Johnson worked to replace fiber optic Internet cables in the bright sun. A contractor for AT&T, Johnson said his crew's truck was equipped with three, 5-gallon jugs of water.
“Hydration starts the day before,” Johnson said. “Weeks like this when it gets really hot you drink nothing but water.”