Excessive heat wave to accelerate snowmelt and flooding

TULARE COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) -- People trying to stay cool will also have to stay alert near the water as water levels are rising and becoming more dangerous.

As the heat rolls in, the historic snowpack that fell this winter will continue to melt and flow into our rivers, lakes, and reservoirs.

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"The news is really pretty good for those who live along the Kings River because even though Pine Flat reservoir is nearly full, the amount of water that has been flowing into pine flat has been steadily decreasing," said Randy McFarland with the Kings River Water Association.

Some areas in the San Joaquin Valley can take on the extra water, but others have already been heavily saturated.

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Action News took to the waters with the Fresno County Sheriff's Office to see firsthand the risks people face. Pine Flat Lake is currently 93% full and is expected to reach capacity soon.

Officials project that water levels will rise into the weekend but recede by the month's end.

"It had been dropping here at the Kings River golf country club earlier, right now it snuck back up and is all around their golf cart shed but it was much higher during the peak of the winter runoff," said McFarland.

Utility companies are also monitoring the heat wave. The extreme temperatures will be concentrated in the Central Valley, which could lead to power outages.

"There is the potential for power outages as you see excessive heat, scorching heat, really, for several consecutive days. Our meteorologists, right now, are forecasting at least ten days of well over 100 degrees," said Jeff Smith, PG&E Spokesperson.

Flex alerts have not yet been issued because other parts of the state are expected to stay relatively cooler.

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