Southern California roasted Thursday in a record-breaking, end-of-spring heat wave that sent temperatures soaring past 100 degrees in many areas, posing hazards for anyone who ventured outside.
Temperatures were expected to climb to new highs Thursday and Friday as a strong high-pressure system cooked the air from the Central Coast south to Los Angeles and San Diego, the National Weather Service said.
Forecasters warned people to take precautions ahead of a "very hot" afternoon that could quickly kill children or animals left in cars, even if the windows were cracked. The Van Nuys area of Los Angeles hit 100 at midmorning.
The region began to warm at the start of the week and authorities in San Bernardino County linked the heat to the death of 77-year-old Joyce Sanders on Monday near the California-Arizona state line south of Lake Havasu.
The Oracle, Ariz., woman appeared to have left her car in search of her 89-year-old husband, Virgil, on a day when temperatures reached 116 degrees in the Colorado River region. Investigators believe the woman died after falling on a hillside where the pair were found by a passerby who stopped after seeing their empty car on the road.
The elderly man was taken to a Phoenix-area hospital in a coma and suffering second- and third-degree burns from the sun and ground contact, according to sheriff's Sgt. Tim Smith.
"There's no foul play suspected - it's just a tragedy is all," Smith said.
Heat may have caused the death Wednesday of a 150-pound Rottweiler named Sierra that was left inside a parked car in Norwalk for 90 minutes while its owner was on a phone call, said Los Angeles County sheriff's Lt. John Gannon. Witnesses reported that the car windows were closed.
The owner, Allen Sheerin, was arrested for investigation of animal abuse and held in lieu of $20,000 bail.
The hot air and dry brush also brought heightened wildfire risks throughout the region.
Firefighters and air crews Thursday battled a 50-acre brush fire after a car ran off the road and burst into flames 70 miles east of San Diego. A man believed to have been driving alone was killed, according to the California Highway Patrol, which was investigating the accident.
On Wednesday, firefighters scrambled to put out small brush fires on the Camp Pendleton Marine Corps base, in the Industry area of eastern Los Angeles County and the Sylmar section of Los Angeles
The mercury topped out at 107 degrees Wednesday in Woodland Hills, beating a previous record of 106 degrees set in 1989, according to the National Weather Service. The Long Beach airport set a record with a 93 degree peak reading.
On the Central Coast, San Luis Obispo reached a record 99 degrees, Paso Robles was 102 and Atascadero reached 105.
