Bay Area residents look for ways to beat the heat

WALNUT CREEK, Calif. (KGO) -- Though Sunday will be a little cooler, ABC7 Meteorologist Lisa Argen says it will still be scorching all around the Bay Area. Health officials are urging all residents to take it easy and maybe head somewhere cooler. One of those places could be the beach. On Saturday, the sand was jammed with people trying to beat the heat. But inland, cooler meant ice cream.

Jamal Cabuka is visiting friends in the Bay Area.

"I thought it was going to be cold up here," he said. "You know, Bay Area is always colder than Southern California."

Not so.

"I think I've been here 10 years in Walnut Creek, hottest conditions I've seen it," one resident said.

Families in Clayton suffered the same discomfort.

Surrounded by Oktoberfest delights, many refreshed one pint at a time.

Others honored their right to bare arms, back, and feet.

The first aid tent even handed out free sunscreen.

And you know the saying -- if you can't stand the heat get out of the kitchen? Case in point at Doyle's Teriyaki.

"I had one employee who couldn't handle the heat and they had to go home," said one restaurant worker.

At 94 years old, Clayton resident Lucille Reagan Duden's age rivals the temperature reading. Time tested advice helped her remain unphased.

"My helper finds shady spots for me, that's where I go," she said.

But firefighters battling a grass fire in Berkeley had no way to escape the scorching sun.

"We have a lot of clothing on that keeps our heat in while we're working really hard," said Warren Davis with the Berkeley Fire Department. "So we have to be extra vigilant about staying hydrated."

With the grass and shrubs crackling dry, the crew knows they got lucky this fire was bordered by water and gravel road.

"It could have burned to the freeway, easily," Davis said.