Firefighters told to drink up to survive the heat

By Mike Morris

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

With recent temperatures soaring well into the 90s and no end in sight, metro Atlanta firefighters are getting sermons from their superiors on the importance of drinking plenty of water.

“These are the rough times of the year because they’re wearing 60 pounds worth of gear and can be dealing with temperatures in excess of 90 degrees,” said Atlanta fire Batt. Chief Roderick Smith.

“We’ve been watching the temperatures, knowing that they’re going to escalate, and we’ve started our regimen of constantly reiterating staying hydrated, staying hydrated, staying hydrated,” Smith told the AJC on Thursday. “We want to make sure they’re hydrating, not just on shift, but start hydrating the day before you come to work so you can endure some of these challenges.”

Smith said his department also sends additional crews out on alarms when temperatures get this hot.

“If we’re going to stay there for a while, we’re going to need to rotate the crews out and give the guys and girls a break,” Smith said.

To help low income families and individuals beat the heat, the local branch of the Salvation Army this week is distributing 1,000 free box fans.

The fans are being provided to metro Atlantans without air-conditioning units or sufficient funds to pay for air-conditioning units, according to Salvation Army spokeswoman Sheena Gadson.

Afternoon temperatures climbed into the 90s across metro Atlanta for the fourth consecutive day on Wednesday, and Channel 2 Action News meteorologist Karen Minton said there's "no relief in sight," with highs across metro Atlanta expected to be in the mid-90s Thursday and through the weekend. That’s about a dozen degrees hotter than normal for early June.

Atlanta’s official high Wednesday of 96 was just 1 degree off the record for the date of 97, set in 1945. Thursday’s record high is 98, set in 1895.

South of Atlanta, the mercury topped the century mark Wednesday afternoon in several locations, including Columbus and Valdosta, which each reported 102 degrees.

Making matters worse, it’s also been drier than normal in recent weeks, and Minton said there’s only a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms through Sunday.

“With high pressure in place, it’s really kind of blocking everything off, so we are kind of stuck in this,” Minton said. “That front cannot move anywhere, so we’re going to keep the very hot, dry weather going for the next several days.”

Atlanta finished May with a rainfall deficit for the month of 1.02 inches and a deficit for the year that stands at .73 inch.

Atlanta has been a little more fortunate in the rainfall department than other parts of Georgia, where state climatologist David Stooksbury says drought conditions worsened during May.

“With well-below-normal rain and temperatures consistently in the 90s, soils continue to dry,” Stooksbury said this week. “The southern half of the state is being hit the hardest.”

Stooksbury classified areas of the state roughly south of a line from Columbus to Macon to Waynesboro as being in “extreme drought.”

He said that over the past six months, Columbus has received only 63 percent of normal rain, while Macon has recorded 60 percent of that middle Georgia city’s normal rainfall.

Closer to Atlanta, several metro counties, including Carroll, Coweta, Fayette, Clayton, Henry, Rockdale and Newton, are in what Stooksbury called a “moderate” drought.

The remaining counties across north Georgia are “abnormally dry,” Stooksbury said.

“Soil moisture in these counties is generally in the normal range for late May, but decreasing rapidly."

So, are we in for a repeat of the drought-raked summers of the middle part of the last decade, when the level of Lake Lanier – Atlanta’s largest source of drinking water – dropped to more than 20 feet below full pool and the entire area was under strict outdoor watering restrictions?

Not really, Stooksbury said.

“For the most part, water resources should remain adequate for municipal and industrial use through the summer,” he said. “Most water systems in Georgia have the capacity for a drought lasting less than a year.”

Lake Lanier’s current level of 1,069.32 feet is about 2 feet below full pool of 1,071 feet, while the metro area’s other major water source, Lake Allatoona, is a couple of inches above the full pool mark of 840 feet above sea level.

Staff photographer John Spink contributed to this article.