West Coast high school football games delayed as dangerous heat wave continues
Several high school football teams across the West Coast delayed their season-opening games on Friday as a dangerous heat wave continued to grip the region.
Schools from Northern California to Washington state pushed back kickoff times to protect players and fans from triple-digit temperatures that refused to relent into the evening hours.
Across California's Sacramento Valley, schools scrambled to adjust their schedules. River City High School in West Sacramento moved its evening games later, with junior varsity starting at 6 p.m. and varsity at 8 p.m. Schools throughout Placer and San Joaquin counties made similar schedule adjustments.
According to guidelines published by the Oregon School Activities Association (OSAA), all outdoor sports activities must stop when temperatures climb above 105 degrees. The rule extends to indoor facilities without air conditioning.
The California Interscholastic Federation (CIF), under a new state law, requires schools to use a special heat-measuring tool called the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature. This device considers multiple factors, including humidity and sun exposure, to determine if conditions are safe for play, according to the CIF site.
In Fresno, where temperatures were expected to reach 107 degrees around junior varsity kickoff times, school officials took immediate action.
"We moved our two home JV games scheduled for Friday night to Thursday," Tim Carey, Fresno Unified's athletic manager, told ABC News. "Yesterday, we hit 104 but we monitored our wet bulb readings ... and never hit a point where we would have to cancel."
The district's approach to the new safety measures has been comprehensive.
"If we get one [reading] that spikes into the black, we shut everyone down just to be safe and equitable across the board. And that's for our entire district, K-12," Carey explained.
Coaches have adapted quickly to the new protocols.
"Yesterday, when we started getting a little high on the numbers, we asked that they warm up the JV kids without their helmets and shoulder pads at first, and there was no problem," Carey said. "They understood what we were looking at and making sure we were abiding by all the rules."
The district is working to streamline its monitoring system.
"We're hoping in the next month we're gonna have a standalone system we're having installed," Carey said. "It's no longer in the hands of our staff. It's a system we can monitor online."
The changes affect not just players but spectators, too.
"We don't want the parents sitting in the stands when it's that hot as well," Carey said. "We're keeping the gates closed until we get a go-ahead for the game and making sure they can bring their umbrellas in, bring their water bottles in, make sure they're staying hydrated in the stands."
According to CIF regulations, football players must follow a five-day acclimatization period. The official protocol states players may only wear helmets for the first three days, add shoulder pads for the next two days, and finally practice in full pads on the sixth day.
The heat wave has shattered records across the West. Multiple locations reported record-breaking temperatures, including Grand Junction, Colorado, which hit 103 degrees on Thursday, matching its all-time August high.
Cities from Los Angeles to Las Vegas faced extreme heat warnings, with temperatures expected to reach between 110 and 115 degrees through the weekend.
The National Weather Service issued Heat Advisories stretching from Southern California to Washington state, warning of temperatures climbing to 105 degrees in many areas. Cities like Bakersfield, Fresno, and Palm Springs faced particularly challenging conditions.
Fire weather concerns also escalated in Southern California, where Red Flag Warnings remained in effect through Saturday for parts of northern Los Angeles County and Ventura County due to the combination of extreme heat, low humidity, and locally breezy winds.
