Heat wave smothers much of West Coast in triple-degree temperatures Abha Bhattarai, Guy McCarthy, Mark Kreidler © Melina Mara/The Washington Post With record-setting heat forecasts of 132 degrees, people walk under continuous misting machines at Death Valley National Park in California on Saturday.
LOS BANOS, Calif. It was 109 degrees and counting at the local Merced County Library branch early Saturday afternoon, a designated cooling center where people were beginning to show up to escape the heat.
“Too hot,” said Alandra Lara, 38, the librarian on duty. “A blast furnace, once you step out of the air conditioning.”
The massive heat wave sweeping the West has blanketed millions of Americans in triple-digit temperatures, leaving cities, hospitals and residents struggling to cope with the extreme highs. By late afternoon Saturday, temperatures had spiked to 111 degrees in Phoenix and 126 degrees in Death Valley, Calif. Las Vegas tied its all-ti
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