The soaring temperatures in San Diego this week are a threat to a lot of people. But those who must make their living outdoors in the heat are in a special class, like the eight-person road crew digging a trench downtown on Wednesday to remove and replace a water line.
Vince Fejeran, the foreman with SC Valley Engineering, said they were — of course — dealing with the heat. “We don’t really have a choice to stop, so we keep coolers on the truck. Keep guys cool with water. Stuff like that,” Fejeran said. “We have shade then take breaks when we can.”
In the coming five days, temperatures in San Diego are expected to be in the mid-90s. In El Cajon, it’ll be over 100 degrees.
Kevin Geraghty is chief of operations for San Diego Gas and Electric whose field employees work in the urban heat island that is San Diego. He said being indoors isn’t always a better option for them.
“Believe it or not, one of the hottest environments we deal with is going inside a customer's home and having to go inside their attic to verify that things are safe for use; their appliances, their heaters,” Geraghty said. “So we can experience anything from 120 degrees outside in Borrego. But some of the attics our teams have to go into are hotter than that.”
Cal/OSHA requires California employers to provide accessible shade and water when temperatures exceed 80 degrees. They are supposed to have an emergency response plan and training for workers and supervisors.
Geraghty said safety starts with training at SDG&E. Hydration is something you have to get ahead of, he said, not catch up with.
“And when events like this happen, each and every morning we have that discussion. We expect longer breaks. Find shade. If you can’t find shade, then bring shade,” Geraghty said.
Fejeran’s crew did bring a shade tarp for their breaks. He said in terms of heat, he’s seen worse.
“We’re used to working in East County. We’ve been in East County for the last 10 years during the summers. So this is the first summer we’ve been down here at the beach so it’s nice for us,” he said.
Next week, temperatures in San Diego County are expected to return to near normal. High temperatures this week in the Imperial Valley could be up to 118 degrees.
