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CLEAR Temp: 77 °F Wind: WNW at 4 mph Friday, August 15, 2003 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine W3 Magazine Jobs @ Mail Tribune Tempo A & E Oregon CarZone Wellness Connection Real Estate Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend July 30, 2003 Roofer Tom West slakes his thirst while working in Tuesday�s scorching heat. Today�s forecast: more of the same. Mail Tribune / Jim Craven It was how hot? Roofers fight heat with water, early day By PAUL FATTIG Mail Tribune TALENT — Roofer Tom West stood in the relative cool shade of the record-melting heat Tuesday afternoon to take a break from his work. Heat radiated up from the black tar paper subsurface that West and fellow roofer Jim Korienek had just installed atop a new home overlooking Talent. "It’s unbelievable how hot it gets up there," observed West, 24, of Medford. "Last year when it got to 100 degrees, I brought a thermometer up on the roof with me. "Within 20 minutes it was up to 160 degrees. So when it’s 105 degrees like this now, you can just imagine how hot it is up there." Advertisement About two hours after the roofers wisely quit for the day, the mercury rose to a record-burning 108 degrees in the shade, topping the previous high of 104 degrees set on July 29, 1992, according to the National Weather Service office at the Medford airport. That other Phoenix, the one down Arizona way, was merely 100. Even Baghdad could only manage to match our heat with 108 degrees. Chuck Glaser, a technician with the National Weather Service office at the Medford airport, says it won’t be much cooler for roofers or the rest of us today. The temperature is expected to climb to at least 106 this afternoon, dropping to a high of around 100 on Thursday. The good news: it will drop to the 90s the rest of the week. The mercury was 105 degrees on Monday, tying the high for July 28 established in Medford in 1973, he noted. "We’ve got a big high pressure system over the area right now," he explained. "That’s going to start breaking down, but it’ll still be above normal for awhile." Meanwhile, folks whose work puts them in heat’s way need to be cautious, he noted. Over at Applied Mechanical Technologies and Concept Inc., a Medford firm offering plumbing and pipe-fitting services, operations manager Red Bailey sends his crew home at 2:30 p.m. That’s about the time the plumber’s helpers start to melt. "We let the guys decide," Bailey said. "It’s their bodies. They know what they can withstand and what they can’t. "I’d rather have them back at work the next day," he said. "We provide them with a lot of water. They need to take breaks when they need to. It’s important this time of year." True story, said Jim Acord, owner of Quality Roofing, the firm employing West and Korienek. "This time of year you can get a heat stroke real easy," he said. "You need to take breaks and drink lots of water." To cool a roof, he sometimes runs a water hose, he said. "The tools get so hot sometimes that roofers will burn their hands," he said. West, who has been roofing about seven years, said the trick is to start early and work hard before Mother Nature turns her oven up to broil. "You definitely drink as much water as you can and start as early as you can," he said. He estimates he drinks at least two gallons of water every hot summer day on the job. West, who will be installing a black synthetic clay material on the building, started working on roofs as a summer job while a teenager. Yet it isn’t the hottest work he has ever done. "I did a little paving with my dad — that was hot work," he said. "He drives a truck now." Reach reporter Paul Fattig at 776-4496 or e-mail him at [email protected] Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2003 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Rogue Valley Auto Finder Rogue Valley Job Finder --> Rogue Valley Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Real Estate Showcase Food for Thought Hike of the Week Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Openings Prime Times