Seattle hit record temperatures Wednesday and could again today

Seattle hit record temperatures Wednesday, but it wasn't the heat that got to Cruz Alfaro, foreman with Jorve Roofing. It was the color.

"Everything we use is a gray color," he said, pointing to the asphalt, insulation and PVC his crew used to lay a new roof on a veterinary clinic in Ballard. The dark colors absorb enough heat to warm rooftop temperatures by as much as 20 degrees.

Alfaro cracked a smile as he squinted under his hard hat. "We are crossing our fingers that everybody wants a white roof."

Temperatures climbed to 89 degrees by 5 p.m., two degrees higher than the previous June 3 record, set in 1978, according to the National Weather Service. If it hits 89 again today, another record will be set. Wednesday's low was 61.

"So the low for today isn't far from the normal high," said NWS meteorologist Dennis D'Amico. Normal highs this time of year are in the upper 60s.

When temperatures get this hot, staying hydrated is the primary concern. Alfaro, who also served as safety monitor during Wednesday's job, 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 get a bottle of water and drink it.' "

Bottles and gallon jugs of water were stuck in any shady nook his four workers could find on the flat roof. The closest they had to shade for themselves were two plastic tarps hanging over wooden beams, blocking the sun but trapping the heat. "It's even hotter under there," Alfaro said.

Record-breaking heat is especially tough because safety procedures already require roofing contractors' bodies to be almost covered — from the top of their hard hats to the steel toes of their boots. Today, the crew will blow hot air — as hot as 500 degrees — onto the roof to melt on the final layer of PVC.

"Eighty-eight degrees would feel cool to them," said Dale Burlingame, vice president at Jorve Roofing, with a laugh.

So far, none of Alfaro's crew has suffered from heat-related illness, but he remembers the story of a friend who, a few years back, drank soda instead of water while on a job, passed out, fell off a ladder and hit his head. He tells the story to illustrate the seriousness of dehydration.

As long as Seattle's heat wave continues, Alfaro and his crew plan to get to work as soon as it's light out so they can work in cooler temperatures. Luckily for them, the National Weather Service predicts cool air from the Pacific will blow over and cool the city down about 10 degrees by Friday.

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