Fresnans brave intense heat to celebrate at El Fuego Block Party

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- People partied in the streets of downtown Fresno as record-breaking heat seared the Central Valley.

It was so hot that Fresno native Jessel Starkey was caught off guard.

"I'm born and raised in Fresno so I know it gets hot every year, but you cannot get used to it, it is not a heat that you can get used to," Starkey said.

Still, she and many others braved the sizzling sun to check out the El Fuego Block Party - an event celebrating Fresno's soccer team, The Fuego FC.

Organizers didn't anticipate the triple-digit heat during planning, but Fuego founder Francisco Alvarez said it's fitting.

Fuego means fire in Spanish.

"When we came up with the name back in 2002 this is exactly what we thought about," he said.

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The weather conditions created challenges for food truck vendors as they cranked out orders at the peak of the heat.

"These boxes, they are metal and that is all it is. It is a hot box so when the fryer is on and things are going the temperatures are a lot higher than what you are experiencing when you order food," said Gurvinder Sadhu, the owner of food truck Twisted Masala.

Many attendees found shelter inside air-conditioned businesses like The Modernist and Tioga Sequoia Brewing.

Edgar Espino didn't seem to mind the heat as long he was in the shade.

"It is awful in my opinion, but I have lived here my entire life so it is something we knew was coming," said attendee Edgar Espino.

Organizers said security staff were trained to identify heat exhaustion and kept a close eye on attendees.

Plans were also put in place to facilitate ambulances in case someone needed to be treated.