San Francisco

Heat Wave Sends Crowds Flocking to San Francisco Beaches

San Francisco's famous fog took Labor Day off, sending residents and visitors scrambling to the city's beaches amid temperatures in the mid-80s.

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"I've never seen such crowds," proclaimed a man named Joel who arrived at Crissy Field's east beach early Monday afternoon.

Tents, umbrellas and beach chairs covered the sandy shoreline as far as the eye could see, with clusters of people out in the water, frolicking in the waves of the infamously frigid Bay.

"It's crowded, it's hot, it's beautiful!" said a woman who stood atop a low concrete wall, taking pictures of the crowd. "Usually it's cold, foggy. I've never seen it this crowded, and I'm from the Bay Area."

In a city where air conditioning isn't common, many said they'd come to the often-chilly spot just east of the Golden Gate to seek refuge from the heat — and quickly found out that everyone else seemed to have had the same idea.

"I come to this beach probably three times a week, and I've never seen it this packed before," said Julia Marshall, who added she'd had a lot of trouble finding parking. "I think it's just the holiday weekend, it's hot as hell out here, and everyone just wants to get out and feel the sun on their skin."

Frequented by visitors to the city, Crissy Field is known for its views of rapidly-moving fog in the summer months, rolling in over the water and wrapping its chilly fingers around the towers of the Golden Gate Bridge.

"Normally you cannot see the bridge," said Alex Hoffman, as she cooled her face off with a small battery-powered fan. "You're taking somebody who is not from San Francisco on a walk here, you have to convince them that there's actually a bridge there."

Standing with Hoffman, another woman said she'd ordered a small air conditioner for the week of hot weather ahead.

"It's wonderful until we have to go home to sleep with no air conditioning," she said. "So we're gonna stay here (at the beach) as long as we can."

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