SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — As the heat wave continues, San Diego families are doing their best to seek out ways to stay cool.
Antonia Maryna Gomez is a mom of two in Chula Vista and said it’s been hard to find ways to stay entertained and cool while also remembering social distancing.
She’s taken her three-year-old to the pool, visited splash pads, played with water balloons and tried the beach, but she said the crowds were too large for her comfort at the beach. It’s also been difficult to keep her excited son away from other people.
RELATED: Flex Alert issued for California, SDG&E lists possible neighborhoods impacted
“It’s hard especially because he’s a very social kid, he loves talking to people but it’s hard to tell your kid what it’s like six feet apart,” she said.
Another option to find relief in her area is cooling centers. A cooling center is open at the old Sears at the mall in Chula Vista on Broadway. This facility is typically open Monday through Friday, but did open up the weekend of Aug. 15 because of the excessive heat. Tony Ramos works for the City of Chula Vista and said they’ve been able to provide resources that are hard to find because of the pandemic.
“We show movies, we also have wifi access which is very important because a lot of our libraries, a lot of the places where people normally tap wifi, are closed,” said Ramos.
RELATED: San Diego County opens cool zones amid heat wave
Facilities like that will be crucial due to a Flex Alert issued for all of California through Wednesday. The Flex Alert goes from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. every day, and everyone is asked to conserve energy to decrease demands during the heat wave and ideally prevent the need to cut off power in areas, however, consumers should be prepared for the likelihood of rotating outages.
Between 3 p.m. and 10 p.m., the California Independent System Operator (ISO) is urging consumers to:
- Set air conditioning thermostats to 78 degrees, if health permits.
- Defer use of major appliances.
- Turn off unnecessary lights.
- Unplug unused electrical devices.
- Close blinds and drapes.
- Use fans when possible.
- Limit time the refrigerator door is open.
