As temperatures climb into the 90's residents of Tulare County are trying to stay cool

VISALIA, Calif. (KFSN) -- With temperatures in the 90's Thursday, it may feel like summer is already upon us. Many folks in the Valley are already scrambling to figure out how to stay cool.

Construction crews certainly feel the heat and so can anyone waiting for a bus. It's not hot enough to be a cooling center yet, but the Visalia Transit Center provided some relief for those waiting for a ride.

"Stay in the shade, go swimming, drink a lot of water, and stay in the shade and don't walk too much," said Hector Vale, Visalia.

Whenever it tops 90 degrees, Grant's Air Conditioning always gets a lesson in keeping cool under pressure. Balancing regular maintenance calls with the ones that go, 'oh no' my AC unit doesn't work, how soon can you get here?

"If it stays hot for longer than a week or so, it's just mayhem. It's hard to keep up, it's hard to keep answering the phones," said Donovan Scrimshire, Grant's Air Conditioning owner. "It's just like getting your oil changed in your car. Even though it's out of sight out of mind, it's something you need to take care of, you rely on it and your most expensive bill is your Edison bill-- it comes from your air conditioning unit."

As summer approaches, safety is the top priority for Tulare County K-9 handlers. That means keeping tabs on how cool their patrol car is while they're away from it and the dog is inside.

"Once one of them gets over a certain degree, the windows automatically roll down, there's a fan right next to the window that will blow fresh air into the car, and then the horn just starts honking," said Deputy David Randolph, Tulare County Sheriff's Office.

The Visalia Rawhide are in the middle of a long, hot home stand. But the dugouts and a few seat decks at the stadium have mister systems to keep things cool.

"Those day games when game time is 95 degrees, it might seem a little unbearable, but actually, when you go into the cold zone, you kind of get that little mister feel. It actually brings the temperature down a good 15 degrees and it kind of creates a cool little atmosphere to watch a baseball game in," said Cody Gray, Visalia Rawhide Assistant GM.

Gray said they might invest next in a portable fan for batting practice, so the players can stay cool while warming up.