Labor Day Weekend Heat Wave Causes a State of Emergency in California
- BY Cal State East Bay
- September 1, 2022
Labor Day signals the end of summer, and this weekend California residents will experience extreme temperatures. Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency to increase power production and he urged residents to reduce electricity use as a heat wave spread over the West.
This weekend, Cal State East Bay will have facilities open for students and the university community, including:
Saturday, Sept. 3
The RAW Center: 12-5 p.m.
The CORE: Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
The University Unions: Saturday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. (both unions)
Sunday, Sept. 4
The CORE: 12-7 p.m.
A&E, KPE and VBT: 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
The University Unions: 2:30-6 p.m. (both unions)
Monday, Sept. 5
New University Union/Panda Express seating area: 11 a.m.-6 p.m.
How you can stay cool:
- Drink water! Stay hydrated–if you feel thirsty, you are already dehydrated
- Avoid alcohol–that frosty beverage actually dehydrates you
- Wear loose fitting, light clothing
- Refrain from working and exercising outside during the hottest parts of the day (11 a.m.- 4 p.m.)
- Check in on the elderly, young children, sick and those without air conditioning. Don’t forget about pets, too!
Where can you beat the heat:
- Movie theaters (look for National Cinema Day deals on Saturday)
- Museums
- Shopping centers
- Cooling centers (Alameda County and Contra Costa County or local County Public Health Website)
What do watch for with heat exposure:
- Tiredness
- Dizziness
- Headache
- Feeling sick or being sick
- Excessive sweating and skin becoming pale and clammy or getting a heat rash, but a change in skin color can be harder to see on brown and black skin
- Cramps in the arms, legs and stomach
- Fast breathing or heartbeat
- A high temperature
- Extreme thirst
- Weakness
If someone is showing signs of heat exhaustion, they need to be cooled down and given fluids. Follow these four steps:
- Move them to a cool place.
- Remove all unnecessary clothing like a jacket or socks.
- Get them to drink a sports or rehydration drink, or cool water.
- Cool their skin. Spray or sponge them with cool water and fan them. Cold packs, wrapped in a cloth and put under the armpits or on the neck and forearms, are good too.
They should start to cool down and feel better within 30 minutes.
If you or someone you are helping experiences any sort of health issue, please dial 9-1-1.
Per PG&E, a Flex alert will be in effect today and throughout the weekend. Conserve power from 4 - 9 p.m. to help prevent outages. For more conservation tips, go to PG&E energy saving page.