Fresno residents get ready for record-setting heat wave

FRESNO, Calif. ( KSEE/KGPE ) – Fresno and Central Valley residents are gearing up for what officials say is going to possibly be a record-setting heat wave.

"This is like one of the most hottest ones I've ever experienced," Fresno resident Tony Gaitan said. "I work in construction. I run a plumbing company, so most of the day we're working in the heat. We left the job site early because of the heat, it's just too much."

An intense heat wave is expected to last in the Fresno area for at least another week. Locals have been coming up with ways to beat the heat.

"I tried to spend most of the time in the office, and as soon as I got home, my wife sent me to get food," Gaitan said.

"We are going to go watch a movie. I feel like every summer is hot. But we love the summer. This is where we thrive," Fresno resident Melissa Will said.

"It's really hot, but the good thing is the city, the last five or six years, got these water parks for the kids now. I'm so thankful that the kids can cool off like this," Fresno resident Vang Chang said.

Many folks found ways to get relief from a possibly dangerous heat wave. A meteorologist with the National Weather Service explained why we're seeing high temperatures last.

"We're going to have a really stagnant system over the area, a high-pressure system that will really allow heat to kind of just be trapped under the surface," Meteorologist Antoinette Serrato said.

It's a weather event that's expected to set records.

"The max temperature record for Fresno was 110 in 2001. The two hottest days of the heat wave will be Saturday and Sunday, and so those days, Fresno is anticipated to get to 113," Serrato said.

This is as folks are also preparing for their Independence Day plans.

"We are going to go swimming, and that is how we beat the heat," Will said.

"We're probably going to be spending the weekend on the lake," Gaitan said.