Many spending the hot weekend out on the water
CBS 13'S Cody Lee spends the day bracing the heat speaking with locals and visitors
WINTERHAVEN, Calif. (KYMA, KECY) - Have you stepped outside today? Well, the heat is on and millions of people across the southwest are experiencing heat advisories and record-breaking temperatures.
As the temperatures heat up, locals are looking for really anything to do to escape the heat. In the desert southwest, residents and visitors are stepping out of the AC and heading to the many different bodies of water.
Carlos Nieves says he’s used to the heat but it's not keeping him and his friends away from Senator Wash.
“We tolerate the summer heat, so we can enjoy the winter because the winter is kind of like our summer out here,” he explained. “It's the best way to cool down when it's 117 degrees throughout the week, you know, and since we live right here YPG, the quickest way to cool down is in the water so we come out. This is my boat, my buddy's boat and then we usually take kids out on the tubes because we got some friends coming. That's pretty much what we do every weekend,” Nieves added.
Visitors often set up camp here and they come prepared with canopies and ice-cold beverages.
One family decided to beat the heat by testing out new paddleboards and they even had the area to themselves.
“We just got a new paddleboard so we're gonna test them out and see if we can stand up on them and keep cool. Since it's a very hot day out,” said Mandy Brown, who is visiting the lake with her family.
There are other places to visit as well. Dwayne Ward, a longtime resident, knows a lot about the geography.
“These are the lakes here Senator Wash, Mittry, those are pretty much the three with car access you can get down to without going like out to Martinez Lake or something but that's mostly for boats,” Ward explained.
The family travels down here often, sometimes they bring their boat. But besides being out on the lake, they also enjoy the comfort of their own home - only needing two things to beat the triple-digit temps.
“Water and AC is the only way. We both have pools at our homes so you know we can swim in our own pools or might just come back out here again,” Brown replied.
