High temperatures soared into the triple digits on the Hood Canal, with an official peak of 101 degrees in Brinnon and an unofficial reading of a whopping 108 in Quilcene.
In contrast, Port Townsend reached 89 degrees, said Dennis D’Amico, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Seattle.
“The coast was quite a bit cooler because they had a nice breeze,” D’Amico said.
Relief is in sight, he said.
Similar temperatures are expected today throughout the North Olympic Peninsula, D’Amico said, but Friday should be cooler.
D’Amico expects the high temperature for the region to be in the mid- to high-70s.
“A little marine push should help things cool down,” D’Amico said.
Official record
While Brinnon’s high temperature of 101 is an official weather service record, the Quilcene report of 108 at 3:59 p.m. is from a weather-watcher and has not been confirmed by the weather service.
If it is, it will be a record for the town, which had an unofficial high of 103 Tuesday — a temperature that would also be a record for Quilcene, if confirmed. Quilcene’s present record of 100 degrees was set July 16, 1941, the National Weather Service said.
Sequim, which recorded a high of 93 degrees Tuesday, reached 94 degrees Wednesday, while Port Angeles’ high cooled from 94 degrees Tuesday to 92 Wednesday.
The Quillayute Airport weather station near Forks recorded 83 degrees Wednesday, after a high of 87 Tuesday, one degree short of the record for the day of 89 degrees set in 1974.
Seattle simmered in the hottest temperature in its history, with the weather service recording 103 degrees at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, breaking a previous record of 100 degrees, set in downtown Seattle in 1941 and repeated at the airport in 1994.
Jay Albrecht, a Seattle meteorologist with the weather service, said it’s the hottest it has been in Seattle on record, dating back to 1891.
Keppie Keplinger, spokeswoman for the Jefferson County Department of Emergency Management, said a cooling shelter has been set up in Chimacum to help people remain safe from the heat.
The shelter is at the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, 45 Redeemer Way.
The cooling shelter is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily for as long as the heat wave remains.
Moe Moser, interim chief of Quilcene Fire District, said while it has been hot, so far his district has not received a call out to a heat-related fire or medical emergency.
“Nothing has happened yet,” Moser said.
“People here have been really smart about staying out of the heat and keeping hydrated.
“I’m quite surprised we’re not having more problems with elderly residents, but thank God that we’re not.
“People are just being really smart.”
Moser said he has warned people to stay indoors or in the shade and not overexert themselves during the heat wave.
“Heat stroke is one of the worst things you can put your body through,” Moser said.
“Do what you have to do to keep cool.”
Smoke in Brinnon
Along with heat, smoke spread through Brinnon and the rest of the Dosewallips Valley from the Constance Fire in the Olympic National Park, according to the Brinnon Fire Department Web site, www.brinnonfire.org/, whichassures residents of Brinnon there is no danger to them from the blaze.
That fire, ignited by lightning July 11 near Lake Constance in the upper Dosewallips River drainage, has grown from 10 acres Thursday to 90 acres, according to the InciWeb Incident Information Web site at www.inciweb.org/incident/1768/.
That fire is being managed but not actively fought.
Another park fire was ignited by lightning last month. The fire in the upper Duckblush Valley remains small, having spread from 1 acre to 1.5 acres from June 13 to this week.
The National Weather Service has not issued any red flag warnings for fires because, although the temperatures have been hot, fuel moisture — or moisture in plants — has been reasonable, D’Amico said.
Officials with the weather service, Olympic National Park and the state Department of Natural Resources were keeping an eye on high altitude storms in the Olympic Mountains.
“We have had a few lightning strikes out there, but it hasn’t really been a problem yet,” D’Amico said.
Port Angeles Police Chief Terry Gallagher said his department received four calls for dogs trapped in hot cars, but nothing out of the ordinary for heat-related illnesses.
A dispatcher with Pen Com — or Peninsula Communications, based in Port Angeles and serving Clallam County — said no fires were reported Wednesday, and there were no calls for heat-related illnesses.
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Reporter Erik Hidle can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at erik.hidle@peninsuladailynews.com.
Reporter Paige Dickerson can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at paige.dickerson@peninsuladaily news.com.
