Record Heat and Tropical Rains Target the County

The hot and sticky weather that blanketed Ventura County on Monday brought record heat to Simi Valley, tropical rains to the mountains and muggy conditions that drove residents countywide to seek refuge in air-conditioned cars, swimming pools and ice cream shops.

An inch of rain fell between 3 and 4 p.m. in the forest surrounding Lockwood Valley, briefly hampering search efforts for a young man whose parents reported him missing about 1:30 p.m. Monday, authorities said.

The 21-year-old mentally disabled man, whose name authorities did not release, was found by deputies shortly before 7 p.m. about a quarter of a mile from his home in the 15000 block of Lockwood Valley Road, officials said.

During the search, a dozen deputies and search-and-rescue volunteers battled the elements in the hills near the man’s home, Sgt. Chuck Buttell said.

“The rain was coming and going and blowing around, and at times it was pitch black,” he said.

Meanwhile, a flash-flood warning was issued from 5 to 9 p.m. Monday for mountain areas of Ventura County, particularly around Sespi and Piru creeks.

As of Monday night, the forest area northeast of Ojai was the hardest hit with slightly more than an inch of rain, meteorologist Jonathan Slemmer said.

“There’s been some heavy rain, but so far no flooding,” he said late Monday.

About 200 Southern California Edison customers in Simi Valley and Oak Park were without power Monday night after several transformers were overloaded by the high usage of air conditioning, officials said.

The weather phenomena were caused by high humidity and stifling heat that mixed with tropical moisture moving north through Los Angeles County, according to officials at the National Weather Service in Oxnard.

“It’s like you see in Georgia,” meteorologist Gary Ryan said. “It’s a warm, humid air mass that’s triggered this, and today has been one of the hottest and most sultry days.”

Temperatures in the county ranged from 82 in Ventura to 95 in Thousand Oaks to 102 in Ojai and Simi Valley. In Oxnard, it was 85 degrees with 78% humidity, Ryan said.

For the most part, humidity levels throughout the county ranged between 50% and 75%, he said.

“It was a sweltering day in the city,” Simi Valley Police Sgt. Ron Chambers said. “I stayed inside all day until I had to come to work.”

And it isn’t over.

Meteorologists said the heat and stickiness will continue today, with similar daytime highs and humidity levels, Ryan said.

“It’s not going to be a barnburner or anything, but it will be much like” Monday, he said.

Temperatures should be 5 to 10 degrees lower by Wednesday, he said, although skies will continue to be sunny.

The 102 degrees reported in Simi Valley broke a daytime record of 101 set in 1983. Simi had three days of record-setting heat in April when the temperature topped 90.

Eleven-year-old Nicole Ray of Simi Valley avoided meltdown by playing video games and running through sprinklers at the Kids ‘N Things day-care center.

“I felt like I was walking into a heater,” she said of being outside. “But we got to run through the sprinklers and it was really fun. All my clothes were really wet and we were drenched.”

Running through the water was a nice break from being indoors, where the youngsters spent most of the day, said Kelly Cronin, 18, a teacher’s aide at the facility.

She said the kids usually enjoy about three hours outside on a normal day but that it was just too hot Monday for more than 30 minutes.

“We took them outside for half an hour and they got really tired,” Cronin said.

In Fillmore, Norma Gutierrez, manager at J & L Pizza, said Monday night that she was sweating in the kitchen.

“A lot more people are ordering for delivery so they don’t have to come out in the heat,” she said.

Amber Sendlak, 17, who works at Ojai Ice Cream, said plenty of customers came to the shop to escape the brutal heat.

“A couple of people came in and just got water,” she said. “Everyone mentions [the heat].”

But at Palermo, an Italian restaurant in Simi Valley, employee Carol Boyd said business was slow because of the hot weather. Only one customer all day dined on the normally busy patio, she said.

“It’s just too hot. People don’t want to go out and eat,” Boyd said.

Wolcott is a Times Community News reporter and Enders is a Times staff writer.

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FLASH FLOOD

Rescuers searched for more possible victims of a flash flood in a hamlet in the San Bernardino Mountains. A1