Livermore residents attempt to stay cool as the city deals with record temperatures

LIVERMORE, Calif. - Temperatures in Livermore were well into the triple digits on Tuesday. It was so hot in the city that some students at Rancho Las Positas Elementary were not allowed to go outside. Temperatures matched the all-time record of 116 degrees, achieved one day earlier, amid an oppressive Bay Area heat wave. 

Principal Steve Martin said children did not have outdoor recess after lunch. Kids were sent back to their classrooms as if it was a rainy day. Martin said all schools in Livermore will follow that guidance all week.

 "They’re all getting schooled on how to deal with the hot temperatures," Martin said. "The kids are good. They’re going with the flow. Fortunately all our classrooms have air condition and nothing’s breaking down."

There are four cooling centers open in Livermore: the city’s three public libraries and the community center. Those cooling centers may close if there are power outages due to rolling blackouts, according to city officials.

"I’m the kind of person that would rather have the heat than the cold… this is just a little bit over the edge," said Jessica Rocha, who visits the Civic Center library branch every Tuesday with her 91-year-old father. "It is hot definitely."

Inside, college student Sage Lozano found a quiet room to study. She takes online classes at Arizona State University where it just happens to be slightly cooler in Tempe, AZ than it is in Livermore during the heat wave.

"I’m from Red Bluff, California which is near Chico and it gets like 106 degrees so I never expected it to be this hot," Lozano said.

The Zavala family of Antioch spent the morning at the Central Park splash pad in San Ramon. Ezekial, 7, and Galilea, 4, took a break from being homeschooled to play in the water. Their mother, Yareth Zavala, said she didn’t want to keep her children in the house all day with the AC running.

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"They love the water and they love the summer, but it’s definitely been hard this summer to keep cool," Zavala said.

Zavala spoke with her youngest child, a newborn girl named Liv, curled up on her chest for nap. The baby slept right through the heat.

"She is almost one month old," Zavala said. "She’s trying to keep cool too."