SALT LAKE CITY — “Feels like 100” is not everyone’s favorite sight on the FOX 13 weather page, especially for outdoor workers.
While some people are enjoying the air conditioning or sitting in their offices, Salt Lake City utility workers are out in the field.
Steve Scoville, a wastewater supervisor for the city’s Department of Public Utilities, says days like this make having an early start worth it.
“We’ve got a little bit of an earlier start shift than most 9-to-5 jobs,” Scoville said. “We start at 7:00 and try to finish at about 3:30 when it’s getting hot.”
Hundreds of public utilities workers are out in the weather conditions every day. Scoville and his team of about 25 people maintain the sewer lines. Luckily, he says they have a safety team that’s looking out for all their workers, especially in this heat.
“Everyone keeps water jugs in their trucks, we’ve got an ice machine that we fill up with ice water, and our great safety team provides us with electrolyte packets,” Scoville said.
TODAY'S FORECAST: Even hotter today; Relief later this week
Across town, it’s heating up for landscapers, too. An operations manager at Hormiga Landscaping said they train everyone before the day starts. They make sure they have water in trucks and take a break every two hours.
Wasatch K9 Fitness and Training owner Theresa Foster said they’re affected by the heat, too.
“Sometimes we show up to a lesson and we’ve scheduled it a few weeks out and we show up and it’s 100 degrees,” Foster said. “We’re obviously very careful about how we’re working with them, what we’re doing with them, but try and find shady spots so that they stay safe.”
No matter what job it is, the weather doesn’t stop them from clocking in.
“It’s critical whether it’s hot weather or cold weather, we’ve still got a job to do and make sure we complete that in all elements,” Scoville said.
