Cheering 1st day of summer? Not in Phoenix with 120 expected

PHOENIX — The first day of summer brought some of the worst heat the Southwest U.S. has seen in years, forcing flights to be canceled, straining the power grid and making life miserable for workers toiling in temperatures that reached 120 degrees in some desert cities.

Arizona is seeing some of the most dramatic temperatures Tuesday, but the heat wave is being felt across Nevada and California, too. It comes as researchers say deadly heat waves like this one are going to grow more frequent.

The forecast called for a high of 120 degrees in Phoenix, which it hasn’t seen in more than two decades, and 126 in Death Valley. Palm Springs, California, hit 120, still two degrees lower than a June four years ago. The operator of California’s power grid called on people to conserve electricity during peak hours.

Workers at a construction site in a Phoenix suburb huddled under an excavator to find a sliver of a shade during a break. At another building site, men in hard hats and yellow vests labored and sweated in the heat and downed water to stay hydrated. Project superintendent Tommy Russell says his company has held weekly safety meetings to prepare for the heat, and he will send all his workers home if it hits 120.

Las Vegas also was baking. Out-of-town visitors tried to stay inside air-conditioned casinos as much as possible, and some tourists lugged packs of bottled water around the Strip. Others went to a bar where the temperature is set at 23 degrees, and glasses, walls and seats are sculpted from ice.

Tonya and Lavonda Williams traveled to Sin City from Orlando, Florida, to get out of town and see the Backstreet Boys in concert. Walking on the Las Vegas Strip in 112 degrees was too much to handle, even for people accustomed to high temperatures.

“This is like the oven door is open,” Lavonda Williams said as the sisters walked from a pedestrian bridge into The Palazzo casino-resort.