The doors and windows at the Lou Costello Senior Center were wide open Thursday morning, promoting cross ventilation to nearly 40 seniors inside.
The center’s air conditioner was down due to some copper components being stolen, according to the center’s director, Raul Lozano. But with hot dogs and hamburgers in hand, many of the seniors were eager to grab cups of ice-cold agua frescas to cool off during lunch.
Temperatures across Los Angeles are above average for this time of year and community members are feeling the brunt of the heat. Heat records shattered across Southern California during the ongoing heat wave in cities like Lancaster and Palmdale, where residents saw a week of 110 degrees or hotter days. Palm Springs on July 5 marked a high of 124 degrees, the hottest in recorded history.
Joe Sirard, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service, said the biggest heat concerns were further inland, like the San Fernando Valley and San Gabriel Valley, but temperatures can still be dangerous to the most vulnerable community members on the Eastside.
“A lot of elderly don’t turn on their air conditioners or they don’t have them, so it’s important to check in on them. Heat is a killer for those folks,” he said. “Heat exhaustion can lead to heatstroke and, unfortunately, sometimes people die because of the heat.”
Back at the senior center, patrons gathered for a delayed Fourth of July celebration with food, dance and karaoke.
Stella Lopez, 72, visits the center a few times a month. She has air conditioning and a fan at home but said she was worried about costly energy bills because of high usage, something she considers essential for her heart health.
“The bills are so high. A lot of the time, people have partners or husbands. I don’t have a partner, so it can be very difficult,” Lopez said. The Boyle Heights resident said she adapts by wearing shorts and a t-shirt everywhere she goes in the summer.
A few miles north at the swimming pool at Roosevelt High School, Eddie Espinoza, 33, was enjoying some shade in the afternoon sun. His seven-year-old daughter, Genesis, was swimming in a shallow corner of the pool during free swim. He said between swimming and water balloon fights, his daughter enjoys having fun while cooling off.
“Everytime we pass by we always see kids playing in this pool and we thought, ‘Why not?’ It’s a hot day so it’s better to freshen up,” Espinoza said. “She’s good at swimming right now, but later on, it’s going to be the deep end.”
Mark Hayward, 54, was swimming laps along the eastern edge of the pool. He doesn’t have air conditioning at home but when it’s hot, enjoys getting ice cream at La Michoacana on Cesar Chavez Avenue and visiting what he calls his favorite pool in the city.
“It’s my regular pool and I’m doing my regular workout. But today is one of those days where I get to cool off. And this has got to be one of the best pools in Los Angeles because it’s an olympic-sized pool,” he said.
Cooling is expected after the weekend, but infants and the elderly are urged to stay hydrated and in air conditioned spaces.
The following places on the Eastside have been designated as cooling centers:
- Benjamin Franklin Branch Library
- Robert Louis Stevenson Branch
- Malabar Branch Library
- L.A. County Library – East L.A.
- Boyle Heights Arts Conservatory
- East Los Angeles Service Center
- Centro Maravilla Service Center
- Salazar Park
- City Terrace Park