Looking to beat the heat
Looking to beat the heat
Residents seek relief from humidity
| CAPTION: Laura Kirby/Daily Mining Gazette Jim Chapin, resting in the shade, was one of many area residents and tourists who headed for the Hancock Beach Saturday to escape the heat. Some backyard thermometers topped the hundred-degree mark. |
By LAURA KIRBY, DMG Writer
HOUGHTON — The week’s heat wave, officially reaching up to 91 degrees, sent Copper Country residents running through the aisles at Wal-Mart, destination “Air Conditioner” section.
“We keep running out,” said hardware floor supervisor Dave Brotherton. “We’ve been out of them all since Friday.”
Fifty units arrived Sunday on special order, with more set to follow, he said. It will likely send stifled shoppers racing to get their hands on one of the few units once again.
Despite heat and humidity topping out at 91 degrees and 100 percent, staff at Portage Health’s emergency room said heat-related medical cases weren’t significantly higher this weekend. But around the area people felt the drain of hot weather.
“As soon as our last visitors left, we went to Redridge Beach and took a dip in the lake,” said Art in the Garden host Debby Hart. Hart’s family offered tours of their idyllic 80-acre Stanton Township homestead as part of the annual event put on by the Copper Country Community Arts Center.
As temperatures in the sun reached 108 degrees, she said her usually healthy organic vegetable garden began to suffer, with cauliflower and broccoli starting to wilt.
Portage Lake Shipping Canal was abundant with boats and many flocked to the beach to cool off, but soon found that being by the water wasn’t enough. Jim Chapin of Torch Lake Township headed straight for the sanctuary of a tree.
“I’m resting in the shade,” he said.
Highs for the rest of the week are predicted to top out in the low to mid-80s until Friday, when temperatures should drop to the upper 70s, according to the National Weather Service in Marquette.
Laura Kirby can be reached at lkirby@mininggazette.com
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