Features

SAN FRANCISCO — San Francisco sweltered Monday as residents braced for a heat wave expected to last all week. High temperatures already are straining California’s overburdened power grid. 

The National Weather Service predicted record-breaking temperatures in San Francisco and Oakland. Downtown San Francisco hit 91 by midday, a few degrees shy of the 94-degree record set in 1912. Oakland hit 92 degrees, coming close to a 1984 record of 94 degrees. Even coastal areas didn’t get a break, with temperatures in the 80s. 

“It’s hot,” said Sandra Threl Fall, while taking a morning walk around Oakland’s Lake Merritt. “I plan to go into hibernation. I don’t plan to do much this afternoon.” 

The California Independent System Operator, the agency that manages the flow of electricity on California’s power lines, declared a Stage 2 emergency, which may mean voluntary outages among some commercial and industrial customers. The agency and power companies across the state have appealed to consumers to reduce energy use. 

“The consumers are doing things but what are the big boys doing? Are they looking at all the things we can do to save energy?” asked Lyn Sacco, an architect, who works out of her Oakland home. She said she is taking measures to conserve, but she won’t turn off her computer. “I can’t afford to lose the business.” 

In Oakland, where temperatures were already in the 80s at 9:30 a.m., Parks and Recreation Department worker Jorge Paz was looking for ways to stay cool.  

“We’re just trying to work the best we can, then get in the shade. Work a little, then go to the shade. Take care of yourself.” 

Across the bay in San Francisco, where summer usually means overcast, chilly and foggy days, some were taken by sur