Seattle sets heat record

It's official: Today is Seattle's hottest June 3 ever.

Temperatures reached 89 degrees by 5 p.m., two degrees higher than the previous record, set in 1978, according to the National Weather Service.

The beach weather might be nice for those at ... ... well ... the beach. But some in the city aren't that lucky.

Roofing contractors spend most of their days working with materials, such as tar and asphalt, that absorb enough heat to warm the rooftop temperatures as much as 20 degrees, said Dale Burlingame, vice president at Jorve Roofing Company. And if that weren't enough, safety procedures require roofing contractors' bodies to be almost entirely covered — from the top of their hard hats to the steel toes of their boots.

"Eighty-eight degrees would feel cool to them," Burlingame said with a laugh.

Cruz Alfaro, foreman of a group of contractors on the roof of The Family Pet veterinary clinic in Ballard today, says he stops every 20 minutes to remind his crew to take a water break.

Last year, the Department of Labor and Industries made it mandatory for such workers to drink one quart of water per hour to protect them from heat related illness.

"They don't always want to stop. They want to keep going and get the job done," Alfaro said. "But we say, 'Hey, you better take a bottle of water and drink it.' "

Bottles and gallon jugs of water were stuck in any shady nook they could find on the flat roof as workers laid layers of asphalt and insulation. Thursday, the crew will blow hot air — as hot as 500 degrees, Alfaro said — onto the roof to melt on the final layer of PVC.

So far, the heat hasn't caused any injuries or illness for the contractors, although the men remember a story from years ago about a man who drank soda instead of water and passed out on a ladder, fell and hit his head. Alfaro used the story as an example of why staying hydrated is important for his crew.

Thursday, Alfaro and his crew plan to start work an hour earlier than usual, when the temperature is still cool. By Friday, the National Weather Service predicts cool air from the Pacific will blow over Seattle and cool the city down about 10 degrees.

Lindsay Toler: 206-464-2463 or ltoler@seattletimes.com