TRIPLE DIGITS

Historic heat wave is too hot to handle

Temperatures climb past 100 throughout Jefferson County

A visitor to Fort Worden cools off on the beach south of Point Wilson.
A visitor to Fort Worden cools off on the beach south of Point Wilson.
Leader photo by Brian Kelly
Posted

Emma dog-paddled her way back to the shore at Point Hudson, took a few steps on the beach, and bounded back into the water.

“The dog days of summer,” laughed John Graham of Sequim as he watched his golden retriever go after a stick for the umpteenth time.

It certainly wasn’t a day at the beach for most of Jefferson County Monday, as Jefferson County — and the rest of the Pacific Northwest — was dogged by triple-digit temperatures from a horrid and historic heat wave.

Record high temperatures were shattered across the region as residents retreated indoors, restaurants closed, and local governments sent employees home.

Port Townsend hit the 100-degree mark, surpassing the record of 96 set on Aug. 9, 1960.

Elsewhere, it was even hotter: 110 degrees in Brinnon, and 108 in Forks. Seattle reported a high of 104, and in Portland, Oregon, it was a sweltering and suffocating 116.

The National Weather Service issued an excessive heat warning last week that stretched into Tuesday. And from Shine to the West End, residents sweated, suffered, and looked for relief. 

 

STATE OF EMERGENCY DECLARED

The scorching weather prompted the Jefferson County Board of Commissioners to declare a “state of emergency” Monday.

The proclamation ordered county operations at the Jefferson County Courthouse to be closed for “the safety and welfare of citizens and employees.”

The county courthouse in Port Townsend, built in 1892, does not have air conditioning.

“It holds a lot of heat and gets a lot of sun,” Chair Kate Dean told her board colleagues before the measure was passed.

Jefferson County Emergency Management Director Willie Bence agreed.

“It’s going to be pretty brutal. It’s going to be rough in there.”

The proclamation put the decision to stay open at the departmental level. With the exception of the county jail, few county buildings have air conditioning.

Jefferson County District Court was closed at noon Monday.

The county transfer station also shut down, at 2 p.m., after employees noted the temperature was 106 degrees on the tipping floor.

Jefferson County Superior Court was closed, as well which added another delay to the ongoing first-degree murder trial that started
June 14.

 

NO ROOM AT THE INNS

Hotels in Port Townsend saw a remarkable uptick in potential guests who are hoping to beat the heat.

At The Tides Inn & Suites, the only hotel with air conditioning, the inn had no rooms available Monday.

“We are booked until Wednesday, where we have one room available,” said front desk employee Sandy Corrigan.

“The phone’s ringing off the hook for a place to stay tonight, to be in place where there is air conditioning,” she said.

The 44-room hotel only has between 17 or 18 rooms available due to renovations underway at the inn.

Historically, a room at the inn has been tough to get during the summer in Port Townsend when there are events every weekend.

“We’re usually sold out during the summer.

“Used to be,” Corrigan quickly added.

As the temperature continued to climb, some guests asked to extend their stays.

That hasn’t been possible given the demand, however.

“We are booked solid,” said front desk employee Marissa Elkins.

There were already 16 people on a wait list by noon Monday. And that’s for a hotel without air conditioning.

Elkins said the hotel was booked full through Monday, July 5.

 

SUPPLIES ARE LIMITED

At the Port Townsend Safeway store, two workers were busy restocking the ice cream coolers just after
7 a.m. Monday.

The shelves for some types of ice cream, notably ice-cream sandwiches, were empty.

Plenty of bagged ice was still available, but signs had been posted limiting purchases to two per customer.

 
PRESS TO BAN FIREWORKS

Some residents have asked county commissioners to ban fireworks because of the heat and dry conditions.

John Hamilton said any kind of fire would be a real disaster for the community under the current conditions.

“If a fire starts in this heat, we’re going to have big problems getting it under control,” Hamilton said.

Fireworks are banned in Port Townsend, but legal fireworks — including Roman candles, aerial spinners, cone fountains, smoke devices, mine/shells/cakes, sparklers and other devices — are allowed elsewhere in the county.

A ban on land-clearing burning, however, has been adopted in Jefferson County.

Jefferson County Fire Marshal Brian Tracer announced the ban last Thursday.

It will run through Thursday, Sept. 30 or until further notice.

The burn ban does not currently apply to recreational fires or barbecues, officials said.

The restriction was put in place after fire chiefs in east Jefferson County noted “the anticipated above-average temperatures and extreme natural fuels available.”

Starting the ban June 25 — and not July 1 — will keep Jefferson County in line with burn bans in Kitsap and Clallam counties.

Jefferson County officials also noted that the state Department of Natural Resources upgraded the fire danger to “moderate” last week, which banned all land-clearing burning on state lands.

Officials said all countywide burning may be immediately shut down if the state declares an unusual fire danger index or if the county fire marshal (in conjunction with Jefferson County fire chiefs) declares an extreme fire danger. No burning of any type will be allowed, including recreational fires, beach fires, bonfires, or the use of portable outdoor fire places, briquettes, charcoal, wood pellets or any other material commonly used for cooking.

At Monday’s meeting of the board of commissioners, Tracer recalled comments from residents during past years when burn bans were  adopted.

Many times, he said, people told him the burning restrictions were “ruining their summer.”

It’s different this year.

“I’ve got more people saying, ‘Hey, what are we doing to prevent this?’”

The dry conditions have been noted by those who work in the dirt, he added. Contractors who move soil have found parched earth an inch under the surface.

“We are definitely abnormally dry,” Tracer said.

A fireworks ban would only be possible at this point, he added, if the state declares an extreme fire danger.

The extended weather outlook makes that action appear unlikely.

“I don’t think the state’s going to put a high or very high fire rating on the Olympic Peninsula, or the state, anytime soon,” he said.

If an extreme fire danger is declared, he added, it will be up to the board of commissioners to adopt a fireworks ban.

Tracer said he expected temperatures to drop into the 80s within the coming week, but added that they may rise again to 90 degrees or a bit warmer for the Fourth of July.

Dean, the chair of the board of commissioners, asked Tracer if further restrictions — including a ban on barbecues — are coming.

“I anticipate us doing that at some point. Unfortunately, my crystal ball can’t tell me when that is,” Tracer said.

 

ROAD WORK CONTINUES

The heat wave did not lead to any immediate changes for crews doing roadwork throughout the area.

Tina Werner, spokesperson for the Washington State Department of Transportation’s Olympic Region, said Friday weather conditions would be evaluated in the days ahead.

“We continue to have conversations around heat-related concerns with our maintenance crews and contractors,” Werner said in an email to The Leader.

“Safety is a core value at our agency. Our field crews take heat stress training every spring, so they know how to identify and respond accordingly. Right now, we don’t have work paused across the Olympic Peninsula ... however that could change,” she said Friday.

WSDOT safety meetings have been focused on heat stress, Werner added, so crews can tell when things are getting serious.

Workers are being reminded to limit their exposure to the sun, stay hydrated, wear light clothing if outdoors, and to take breaks out of the sun throughout the day.

“We’re supplying water and ice on site and crews are looking out for each other,” Werner said.

WSDOT said it would make adjustments as necessary early this week.

 
COOLING SHELTERS

Jefferson County opened three cooling centers over the weekend; at the Tri-Area Community Center, the Quilcene Community Center, and the Brinnon Chamber of Commerce Visitor’s Center.

Bence, the county’s emergency management director, said Monday the heat streak marked a change from the department’s long focus on the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The fun just doesn’t stop,” Bence told county commissioners at their meeting earlier this week.

Bence said the cooling centers weren’t especially active, with the number of people using them probably in the double digits.

He noted he had heard reports from some residents that the temperatures inside their homes were hitting the mid-90s and even topping 100 degrees.

Some people were really struggling, Bence said.

Bence asked the public to take precautions, especially if they were thinking about barbecuing.

“This disaster can snowball into another disaster. So exercise some caution,” he said.

With the pandemic and now record temperatures, Commissioner Dean wondered, what next?

“Do we have locusts coming or anything else that we should be aware of?” she asked jokingly.

 

DISTRACTING WHIRLWINDS

Everyone’s got a fan.

It was an unexpected side effect of the hot weather during Monday’s meeting of the commissioners.

As usual, the meeting was held on the Zoom videoconferencing platform due to the pandemic.

But at times, officials struggled to hear, and be heard, during the meeting.

Blame the nonstop humming of fans used by meeting attendees.

When Commissioner Heidi Eisenhour apologized for the loud sound of her fan, Dean said her difficulty in following the conversation was due to the one she had by her side.

The noise was drowning out some of the things people were saying, she added.

“I saw your brow furrowing,” Eisenhour replied.

 

PORT SENDS STAFF HOME

The Port of Port Townsend ceased operations at noon Monday out of concern for port staff who work outdoors at the boat yard, as well as those in their offices without air conditioning.

Port officials said they planned to have employees back in action first thing Tuesday.

Deputy Port Director Eric Toews said port staff told him Monday that temperatures had reached 97 degrees in the shade at Boat Haven’s yard offices.

“Even though our crews are hardened due to year-round weather exposure, this is pretty extreme,” Toews said, adding that managers have been instructed to keep an eye out for symptoms of heat exhaustion among the employees.

Toews also noted that it appears a large contingent of moored boats have been departing the marina, most likely hoping to cool off out on the water.

 

TOO HOT, BY THE NUMBERS

At the Jefferson County International Airport temperatures reached a high of
88 degrees at 4:35 p.m. Friday, June 25.

Saturday’s high came at
5 p.m. with temperatures hitting 92 degrees.

Temperatures on Sunday hit 97 degrees by 4 p.m.

By 11 a.m. Monday, the airport had recorded a high of 90 degrees.

According to instruments at the Boat Haven Marina, temperatures hit a high of 90 degrees at 6 p.m. Friday. Saturday’s temperature peaked at 5 p.m. with a sweltering 92 degrees at the marina.

By 11 a.m. Monday, the marina had already recorded a high of 90 degrees.     

 

NOT A FAN IN SIGHT

Henery Hardware in Port Townsend sold out of fans  — box, tower, and all — on Friday afternoon in preparation for the weekend heat wave.

“We ordered a bunch on Friday, got as much as we could from our warehouse,” said an employee. Come Friday evening, not a fan was left in sight.

The kiddie pools that were left in stock flew off the shelves early Friday, as well, the employee added.

“Those went as fast as they could.”

They were able to get one air conditioning unit in, but that also went as fast as Friday morning.

 
STAY AWAY FOR NOW

Rayonier closed all public access to its forestland properties in Washington, Oregon, and California because of the weather and fire hazard conditions, and the timber company said its properties would remain off-limits unit the Fourth of July holiday.

 
FROZEN TREATS GO FAST

Elevated Ice Cream saw lines out the door this past weekend.

“We did run out of a couple of popular flavors,” said owner Shirlena Freund.

The cooling flavor of Mint Chip and the refreshing Sequim Strawberry were among the first to go.

Summer weekends are always busy for Elevated, so this was nothing out of the ordinary for the ice cream parlor.

“But I would say it was a bit longer lines than normal because everybody was hot and wanted ice cream,” Freund said.

 
NONSTOP WATERING

Tourists weren’t the only ones needing relief in Port Townsend in recent days.

“We are watering our brains out,” Patty Smith said at the Port Townsend Garden Center.

There is limited shade at the center, so many of the plants have been placed under cloth covers.

“We’ve been coming in early and watering,” she added, and noted some plants are showing signs of stress while most are fairing well with extra watering.

 
POOL SPOTS FILL UP

The public pool wasn’t overflowing in Port Townsend because of the hot weather.

That’s because Mountain View Pool has been using reservations to control the number of visitors.

The sign-up system was put in place earlier due to COVID-19 — and not because of the oppressive heat over the past few days.

The pool has been open from 7 to 11 a.m. Monday through Friday, said aquatic program supervisor Cat Sonandre.

While a few spaces were still open as of Monday, Sonandre said they were filling up fast by folks looking to get out of the heat. She added that visitors were encouraged to book their spot either by calling the pool at 360-385-7665 or online at app.appointmentking.com/published_schedule.php?domid=1397.