Temperatures in the Denver metro area soared again Monday, equaling a record-high 100 degrees.
As the unofficial temperature near downtown read 101 degrees by mid-afternoon, Bill Crawford, 62, of Denver led his family to refuge in Congress Park’s pool.
“I’m ready for the snow right now,” Crawford said, hurrying to comfort under a tree. “I notice the older I get, the more I enjoy being in the shade.”
A large mass of hot air has crept across Denver, erasing any chance of rain and bringing with it scorching temperatures.
The Fourth of July holiday Wednesday could be a few degrees cooler – in the low 90s – but there is not much chance of relief for the rest of the week, forecasters say.
The outset of the summer’s first heat wave typically accounts for more hospital patients, and this one is no exception. Denver Health Medical Center has begun treating more patients with heat-related illnesses, said Dr. Christopher Colwell, associate director of the emergency department.
“We’ve had cardiac arrests that, while we can’t say are related to the heat alone, there are cases already where the heat has played a role,” Colwell said. Authorities warn to pay special attention to at-risk adults exposed to the heat and avoid leaving children or pets in vehicles.
Salvation Army volunteers passed out nearly 500 bottles of water to pedestrians in Civic Center.
“We don’t want anybody with heat stroke or heat-related illnesses that send them to the hospital,” Salvation Army spokesman Roger Miller said.
