Ice cream, indoor breaks and Hillside pool: Beating the heat in Durham
People across Durham spent Friday searching for relief as extreme temperatures and ongoing drought conditions tightened their grip on the Bull City.
At Hillside Pool, the only outdoor public pool open in Durham this summer, families often line up before the gates even open. Sierra Hurdle said her family has been there every day.
"From the time it opens, there's already people waiting to jump in that water," she said.
Others opted for indoor escapes. TJ Kahn and his mother were first through the door when the Parlour ice cream shop opened at noon.
"It's a hot day. We might as well get Mom out," Kahn said. He ordered an ice cream sandwich with cookies and cream. "When you bite into it, all the ice cream comes out the sides," he said.
For some, the heat changed their plans entirely. Carson Mungo said his car thermostat read 101 degrees when he pulled up for an appointment.
"I'm going to stay indoors all day," he said. "I just came out to get my glasses repaired and I'm going back in."
The dangerous temperatures also raised concerns for workers who can't avoid the heat especially sanitation crews who spend hours outside collecting trash.
Dante Strobino, a union organizer with the North Carolina Public Service Workers Union, said conditions on the job can be even more intense.
"When you're on a truck, there is heat radiating off the truck and machine making it ten, twenty, thirty degrees hotter," he said.
"Worker lives are more at risk. It's more responsibility on state and local governments and all employers to keep employees safe so workers don't die."
The heat wave comes as drought conditions worsen statewide. Durham remains in an exceptional drought, the most severe category on the U.S. Drought Monitor.
City water officials told ABC11 they've received 170 complaints since water restrictions took effect and have issued two violations for residents who didn't follow the rules.
