SF Bay Area bakes amid short-lived heat wave with cooler temperatures expected to hit region Sunday - San Francisco Chronicle

A heat wave scorched the Bay Area on Friday as temperatures reached triple digits, the heat a growing concern as a handful of wildfires broke out across the region.

The short-lived heat wave is expected to start retreating slightly on Saturday with more of a cool down on Sunday, said Sarah McCorkle, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

“As we get into (Saturday), it will be still be toasty,” McCorkle said. “Sunday is really when we will see the temperatures cool off.”

But for most of the day Friday, temperatures climbed throughout the day, and forecasters said they expected only a slight reprieve at night.

The temperature in San Francisco reached a balmy 90 degrees at the airport in the early afternoon. Downtown San Francisco was only slightly cooler at 87 degrees.

Oakland reached mid-80s, McCorkle said, with the temperature still rising late into Friday afternoon.

The hottest temperatures hit parts of the interior East Bay in Concord, Livermore and Antioch. Concord was 100 degrees, Livermore was expected to reach 97 degrees and Antioch up to 101 degrees.

In the South Bay, temperatures were expected in the high 90s in San Jose.

More for you

Other parts of Northern California were also pummeled by the heat. UC Davis ended its commencement ceremony early on Friday due to “health and public safety concerns” from the heat. Davis reached 98 degrees as of Friday afternoon.

A few places crept toward record highs.

Temperatures reached 99 in Santa Rosa. McCorkle said forecasters were keeping an eye there to see if temperatures break a 2019 record when it reached 101 degrees.

Despite the hot weather in the North Bay city, residents filled cafes and stores on Friday afternoon.

Ru Scott, owner of Punch Clothing, a women’s clothing store in Santa Rosa, said she was surprised so many people were out in the heat shopping. She said the weather was hot and breezy — a potentially concerning combination.

“There is always a fear when there is wind and heat with fires,” Scott said.

On Friday afternoon, firefighters battled a 50-acre blaze at Marsh Creek and Walnut Boulevard near Brentwood. Firefighters contained the blaze by Friday afternoon.

A separate fire was reported Thursday in the same location, but was completely contained by Friday morning.

Still another fire was reported near Lassen National Forest in Tehama County, but there was no immediate information on how many acres the blaze had burned.

The forecast highs prompted the National Weather Service to issue an excessive heat warning in Northern California for Friday starting at 11 a.m. and lasting through 10 p.m., which means very hot conditions with little relief and an increase in the potential for heat-related illness.

During a heat advisory, the agency recommends that people drink plenty of fluids, stay out of the sun as much as possible, take extra precautions when outside, check up on neighbors and friends, and keep and eye on children and pets.

Cooling centers, which include most public libraries, are available throughout the Bay Area, and PG&E provides a searchable online map of cooling center locations.

Temperatures will start to drop off on Saturday, and by Sunday, conditions will cool down significantly, said Ryan Walbrun, a meteorologist with the weather service.

For the hottest parts of the Bay — Concord, Livermore, Santa Rosa, Antioch — temperatures will be in the 90s, McCorkle said.

Some areas are expected to cool by as much as 25 degrees by the end of the weekend. Things will stay seasonably dry and warm early next week before temperatures dip to below normal late next week.

On top of the heat, Friday also brought a Spare the Air alert for the Bay Area due to unhealthy ozone and smog accumulation. Residents were encouraged to limit driving to reduce air pollution, work remotely if possible and consider limiting outdoor activities.

Sarah Ravani and Danielle Echeverria are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: sravani@sfchronicle.com danielle.echeverria@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @DanielleEchev @sarravani

Adblock test (Why?)