Heat bears down on valley

Wednesday, July 13, 2005 | 11:19 a.m.

The National Weather Service extended an excessive heat warning through Thursday as temperatures hovered at 111 degrees and above on Tuesday, roasting the Las Vegas Valley.

Temperatures were expected to remain at 110 degrees or higher through the weekend, meteorologist Brian Fuis said.

Today's temperature could reach 113 or higher. The record for the date is 115 degrees, set in 1939, according to Weather Service records.

No rain is expected to fall during a period when moister air normally flows into Southern Nevada from Mexico, bringing heat-relieving thunderstorms. The monsoon flow is drier this year, but could create dry thunderstorms, Fuis said.

Such parched thunderheads produce lightning, but little if any rain, which could increase the danger of wildland fires, Fuis said.

Death Valley reached 122 degrees Tuesday, but did not beat the record of 128 degrees set in 2003, Fuis said.

A 68-year-old woman was airlifted with heat stroke to St. Rose Dominican Hospital Siena Campus Monday after National Park Service rangers discovered her two miles south of Hoover Dam, Park Service spokeswoman Roxanne Dey said.

The woman's car had broken down and she had been exposed to temperatures above 110 degrees for more than 2 1/2 hours, Dey said.

The identity and address of the woman was not available.

Andy North, a spokesman at the hospital, said he could not give out any information about the woman's condition by federal law.

Dey cautioned anyone considering a trip to Lake Mead or a hike on trails in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area.

"It can be 10 degrees hotter at the lake than in Las Vegas," Dey said. The Park Service has closed Gold Strike Canyon and the Railroad Tunnel Trail for repairs, she said.

The coroner's office reported no heat-related deaths since the excessive heat warning went into effect.

But a 15-month-old child died Friday after being left in a car for about three hours in heat that reached more than 100 degrees, Metro Police said.

A relative forgot that Jozia Diaz-Beltran, 15 months, was in the vehicle, which was parked in the 400 block of Frederick Avenue near Alexander Road and D Street, police said.

Heat stress killed a total of 64 people in Southern Nevada in the past three years -- 12 deaths in 2004 and 26 each in 2003 and 2002.

Nevada Power Company, however, set a new peak record for electricity use at 5,062 megawatts at 5 p.m., utility spokeswoman Sonya Headen said.

The previous record was set on Aug. 11, 2004 with 4,969 megawatts, Headen said.

"We do it every year because of the growth," Headen said.

Nevada Power expects that Tuesday's record could be broken this week or later this summer, she said.

Nevada Power has more than 740,000 customers, compared with roughly 700,000 customers a year ago, Headen said.

To help utility customers stay cooler, Headen suggested setting air conditioner thermostats to 78 degrees, using programmable thermostats, major appliances such as ovens, dishwashers and clothes dryers between 8 p.m. and 11 a.m. -- off-peak power hours -- as well as running ceiling fans to increase airflow.

More energy conservation tips are available on the utility's Web site at nevadapower.com.

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