The soaring temperatures that heat up the Bay Area Thursday caught some people off guard, from locals to tourists.
For Lasse Koch, visiting from Copenhagen, Denmark, it was lamenting what he packed in his suitcase: sweaters, jackets and mostly warm layers.
“We actually talked about it before coming here, that we needed some warm clothes,” Koch said. “We heard about the cold mist from the waters. So, I [think I] should’ve brought more shorts.”
French tour guide Michel Germane said he’s worked in San Francisco for 27 years leading groups and called Thursday a rare day in his near three-decades of experience.
“I told my people, you’re very lucky today because usually it’s kind of cold, the weather, the fog comes in, so we are so happy!” Germane said.
Temperatures hitting the mid-80s in San Francisco surprised locals, too, like Colleen San Diego. She said she had to escape the heat in her apartment.
“The heat stays if you don’t have air conditioning,” San Diego explained. “Even when it cools off outside, it’s still hot inside for the next three days, so trying to get a little breeze right now!”
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For one group, being outside isn’t a choice.
“If you think it’s hot walking down the streets, go ten floors up in the beating sun, in the deck and on your hands and knees,” said Brett Bird, a construction worker.
“It’s probably 20 degrees different from what you guys are normally doing,” said Leo Becerra, also a construction worker.
Chris Nunes has been in the business of cranes and rigging for 35 years. He said even the hottest days in the Bay Area cannot compare to the heat in the Central Valley.
“You go down to Bakersfield, it’s 110 and you’re doing a lot of work!”
With a high-risk job working on platforms many stories up, workers said it is especially critical to stay hydrated. Without enough water, they’re vulnerable to dizziness and even fainting.
“Something like that happened yesterday, just brought him to shade, gave him water,” Bird explained. “Heat exhaustion’s a big topic at our safety meetings every week, especially coming into the summer months now.”
The San Francisco Police Department said there is one not-so-nice element about the nice weather: crime going up.
Spokesperson Albie Esparza said while there aren’t numbers nor statistics to specifically back that up, it’s generally acknowledged that people leave windows open because many buildings in San Francisco do not have air conditioning – behavior that invites criminals to break in.
