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Temperatures Soar; Bay Area Swelters Under A Two-Day Heat Wave

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- A high pressure system stalled over Arizona early Wednesday turned up the heat in the Bay Area with temperatures forecast to soar into triple digits adding to the already tinder-dry wildfire conditions.

The National Weather Service issued a heat advisory for the Bay Area beginning at 11 a.m. Wednesday through 8 p.m. Thursday evening. During that span, temperatures will range from 95 to 105 in some Bay Area locations.

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"(There is a) moderate to high risk of heat illness for those who are sensitive to heat or for those who are exposed to the sun and active for long durations," the weather service said. "Wear light weight and loose fitting clothing when possible and drink plenty of water."

Forecasters also warned Bay Area residents to "drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out of the sun, and check up on relatives and neighbors."

Record temperatures were set across the Bay Area. Santa Rosa set a new record of 101 degrees, breaking a 52-year-old record for this date while Napa tied an almost 70-year-old record of 100 degrees from 1951.

Airports around the region also had record days with SFO at 94 degrees, Moffet Field in Mountain View reaching 95 degrees, the San Jose airport hitting 98 degrees and the Oakland Airport heating up to 94 degrees.

Some of the non-record high temperatures around the Bay Area were Pittsburg at 106 and Fairfield at 105.

The weather system was also turning up the heat in the Lake Tahoe area where temperatures forecast to soar to 100 to 106 in the lower foothills.

Bay Area heat caused a power outage in the Danville area late Wednesday afternoon and into the evening, PG&E officials said.

The outage started at 4:29 p.m. and 3,578 customers were without power at the peak of the outage, PG&E spokesperson Tamar Sarkissian said.

As of 5 p.m., 2,608 customers were without electricity.

Sarkissian said there's no estimate for when power will be restored.

"This was a heat-related outage," Sarkissian said. "In certain extreme heat events we will see outages. We remind our customers, energy conservation measures really help."

Sarkissian said small changes in routine such as shifting power consumption to the morning or after 7 p.m. ease the load on the California power grid.

She said we remind customers to set air conditioning or thermostats to 78 degrees or higher and 85 degrees when away.

The soaring temperatures and bone dry humidity levels elevated the anxiety levels of Bay Area firefighters as the conditions were prime for wildfires.

A heat advisory that the National Weather Service issued remains in effect until 8 p.m. Thursday as temperatures will again climb to the 90s and 100s in parts of the Bay Area.

The heat advisory applies to North Bay and East Bay mountains and valleys, interior Monterey County, Southern Salinas Valley, Santa Clara Valley, and inland cities.

Air quality will be poor as a result of the high temperatures, according to the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, which has issued a 'Spare the Air' alert for Thursday.

Spare the Air alerts are issued when ozone pollution is forecast to reach unhealthy levels.

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