If you can't stand the heat... too bad
One of the 1000-plus swimmers who stopped by the Kellogg Pool this week bravely got out of the cool water to show off his skills from the diving board.
JOSH McDONALD
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Pacific Northwest was the third hottest region on the planet behind the Sahara and Arabian Peninsula.
(Insert sweating emoji here)
Beating the heat has become a war of attrition as residents across the region have been forced to push their air conditioners to the absolute limits in order to combat the triple-digit temperatures.
The heat wave was caused by an extended "heat dome" that settled over the Pacific Northwest.
And experts in the field expect this to become a common occurrence in the coming years as climate change continues to reshape weather patterns around the planet.
While the temperatures have seemed unbearable, from a management standpoint the heat hasn’t had as big of an impact as one might imagine.
According to Shoshone County Fire District 1 Chief Aaron Cagle and District 2 Chief Mark Aamodt, the number of heat-related medical emergencies was minimal, with District 1 responding to just four and District 2 reporting just “a couple” heat-related calls.
The Kellogg Pool has been one of the most popular landing spots over the last few days with pool manager Brittney Robins reporting that over 1,000 people had come into the facility from last Saturday through Thursday afternoon.
A few locals were asked via social media how they were keeping cool, as well as what the hottest it got at their homes – the answers all followed a similar theme, but with slight differences.
Kyley Glisson’s thermometer got up to 112 on her back porch, and with the AC struggling to keep up she’s taken her family to one of the local lakes to cool off.
“My house even with an AC on isn't staying below 82,” Glisson said. “We've blocked off hallways and other rooms to try to only cool the central living room and kitchen. Kids have been sleeping on the couch cause it's too hot in their rooms.”
Christina Madsen has a little experience with high temps, so she’s no stranger to co-existing with them – and she’s using a little bit of everything to do so.
“River. AC. Otter pops,” Madsen said. “But I mean it’s not that bad, the warmth feels so good after a long cold winter. People don’t understand how cold and gross it gets here ... But, I mean, I lived in Arizona summer, nothing beats the warm nights.”