Hot town, summer in the city

Saturday went down in the books as the hottest day of the year so far for Bloomington. The temperature reached 96 degrees, according to the National Weather Service. Plus, the heat index, which accounts for humidity, was near the 105 degree mark throughout much of the day. Sunday wasn't much different as temperatures soared to 95 in the mid-afternoon.\nThis summer, Bloomington has experienced 22 days in which temperatures have climbed above 90 degrees as opposed to the 11 days total in 2001. For many of these days, the government has issued heat advisories. And the summer isn't over yet. \n"As far as continuous heat, this year has been about 40 percent warmer than last summer," said Steve Brash, a spokesman for Cinergy PSI energy company, which provides local service. This sweltering heat has caused Cinergy's demand to hit record peaks. On Aug. 1, a new record peak demand was set, surpassing the old record which was set just a few days earlier on July 29. \n"Thus far this summer, already without the full month of August, we've had 23 days where our peak demand has exceeded last year's," Brash said. \nThis means higher cooling bills for local residents. \n"Customers can expect a significant increase in their bills, especially if they're using air conditioning to cool their homes," Brash said. \nHigher bills are not the only consequence of this heat wave. The emergency room at Bloomington Hospital has been feeling the heat as well. The admittance of people with heat-related injuries has been up significantly from last summer.\n"I see about one or two (heat-related injuries) every day I work," said Dwaine Illman, an emergency room physician. "We see normally healthy people who go running and just collapse because of this heat."\nIllman said elderly and obese people, along with those who have lung and heart problems, are the most likely to have health problems due to the heat. But this summer he's seen increasing numbers of healthy people who are having problems as well.\n"Many people go along ignorant of the fact that this heat is dangerous. If you are doing any kind of physical activity out there, it's very dangerous," Illman said. "Your body's cooling mechanisms must work much harder in this heat. When people are out there working for long periods of time, the body looses it ability to cool itself."\nStandard treatment for heat exhaustion and heat stroke is to move the person into a cool place and give fluids. Sometimes fluid is even administered through an IV. Illman remembers working in Dallas, Texas, where it was common to submerge over-heated people into vats of ice water to cool their bodies. \n"We haven't gotten to that point here yet," Illman said.\nAnd it looks like at least for now, the heat wave is slowing. The National Weather Service expects a break by Tuesday, when local temperatures are expected to retreat back to a high of 82 degrees.