Valley residents escape heat in the mountains

SHAVER LAKE. Calif. (KFSN) -- The heat wave is sending many Valley residents to beaches or mountains for relief.

At Shaver Lake, some say it's as much as 15 degrees cooler at times. Right now, it's hard to even get a boat to rent because of all the mountain visitors here cooling off.

The sweltering heat and full lake are selling out cabins and campgrounds all around.

"A lot of people spending full weeks here and I think that has a lot to do with the weather in the Valley," Dana Smith with Shaver Lake Vacation Rentals said. "People are saying our kids are out of school for a few more weeks, let's take a week, this is crazy hot, let's get up there and stay cool."

For the first time in years, Smith says his phone's been ringing non-stop all summer long.

"I have no places available this weekend, and we only have a handful available next weekend," Smith said.

The higher elevation the better for the Heiner family of Fresno.

"We go all the way up to Huntington lake which would bring it like all the way down to the 80s, 85 at the highest so we like going as high as we can to get away from the heat," Dustin Heiner of Fresno said.

The Galindo family of Madera enjoyed a cool breeze lakeside Friday. They decided to relax on the shore and rent a paddle boat and canoes since the pontoon boats were sold out.

"It's 85 right now," Irene Galindo said. "It's 85 degrees but beautiful just looking at the lake watching the kids have fun."

Just the refreshing cold water, was enough to make many visitors feel like they were far away from the triple digits that lately can seem impossible to escape.

Even finding a cabin midweek has become a challenge but some visitors say the short drive from Fresno makes it the perfect daylong trip just for the cooler temps.