When blistering heat pushes temperatures above 100 degrees, many Stockton residents can head indoors, crank up the AC and wait it out. But for those whose jobs keep them outside, escaping the heat isn’t always an option.
Before the sun rose across Stockton this week, some residents were already starting their days, trying to get ahead of the “mini heat wave,” as National Weather Service meteorologist Kate Forrest described it. The heat climbed into the triple digits, with temperatures reading 104 and 106 on consecutive days at the Stockton Metropolitan Airport, NWS data shows. By Friday, the high had slightly eased, reaching a high of 93 degrees.
But as climate change makes extreme heat more frequent and prolonged, there’s an added risk for those who can’t escape the heat, said Ariane Middel, an associate professor at Arizona State University and director of the school’s SHaDE Lab, which studies how environmental conditions and urban design can shape a person’s exposure to heat.
“Heat exposure is unequal,” said Middel, adding that this is especially true for outdoor workers or those who cannot move indoors. Heat conditions can differ even between people standing just 10 yards apart, she said, as factors like direct sunlight, hot pavement and humidity can change how the body experiences heat.
As extreme heat becomes more frequent and prolonged, she said, the risks also increase as their bodies have less time to cool down and recover. In severe cases, heat exposure can be deadly. About 559 workers nationwide die each year, with more than 24,000 experiencing heat related injuries, a 2024 study from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
“It’s a silent killer,” Middel said. “You can feel it, but you don’t know that it’s hitting you until it’s too late.”
Stocktonia spent time with six Stockton residents whose jobs or routines kept them outside through this week’s abnormally high temperatures. Each spent more than eight hours navigating days where temperatures reached triple digits.
Searching for ‘a little more business’
“Agotado,” is the one Spanish word street vendor Jhony Valencia used to describe how the heat had left him — exhausted.
Valencia would carry on until dusk, riding through South Stockton in his mobile food cart as his sprawling, rainbow-paneled umbrella offered some respite from Wednesday’s relentless sun.
Then, a nearly hourlong drive back home to Sacramento before starting the commute south again the next morning. It’s work he’s relied on for roughly half a year, he said.
“Vengo buscando,” he trailed off when asked why he sells on days with extreme heat, before chuckling, “Well, I’m looking for a little more business.”
Bites of nieve de garrafa, a rich, Mexican-style ice cream he serves out of his cart, did little to ease him from Wednesday’s temperatures; by the time he parked at McKinley Park that afternoon, the high had reached 106 degrees.
“When the heat is strong, one feels fatigado [fatigued],” said Valencia as a slight breeze blew hot air his way. Sometimes, he deals with headaches that last all day, he added.
As he waits at the park a car pulls up, with two women emerging ready to pick from Valencia’s variety of Mexican snacks. As they order, the cool air from the vehicle’s air conditioning lifts loose strands of hair from their face.
Most customers, Valencia said, arrive in their car. Very few come on foot. It’s why he has to move from one location to another, even in the heat.
“If I stayed here all day,” he said, gesturing to the park’s heavily shaded lot, “no sale” — and not in the English sense of the word; he means, nothing would come out of it.
‘Quédate tú, voy yo’
By 10 a.m. on Thursday, the heat had already settled in. Hirlanda Castro Sanchez, a 48-year-old landscaper, had just finished mowing a client’s lawn with the full glare of the morning sun beating down on her.
Her husband, who is also in the landscaping trade, was making his final passes in the backyard. Before long they would take their first break, moving their truck into the shade at Grupe Park in North Stockton, where they’d blast the AC for a few minutes while taking gulps of their prepared liters of water.
It was their fourth day working in the extreme heat. Starting at 8 a.m., they had about six houses left to tend before finishing in the late afternoon.
But from noon to 3 p.m., the heat can become heavy for her. On days she doesn’t feel well, her husband tells her, “quédate tú, voy yo” — You stay, I’ll go finish the work.
But he usually pushes through, she said. Don’t get sick, she tells him, because she can’t do the work on her own.
To get through the day, she wears a long sleeve shirt and a wide-brimmed straw hat to shield herself from the sun. She doesn’t have a choice but to wear them, she said, or else she’ll get badly sunburned.
On days they know will be especially hot, her husband calls clients to ask if they can start earlier. Most agree, with some suggesting they stop by another week. But some don’t understand, Castro Sanchez said, and still expect the couple to work.
“It’s our job. You make yourself keep going,” she said. “Whether it’s intense or not … regardless, you still have to work.”
‘Someone has to do this work’
As Roberto Ocoteno snapped Gala apples from trees in an orchard near Waterloo in east Stockton, a fleece lined jacket protects his arms from the scrapes.
While the jacket shielded him from the rough trees — and even from the midday Thursday sun — the extra layer appeared to hold in the heat, with drops of sweat dotting the bridge of his nose.
His almost 8-hour workday as an agricultural laborer had started around 6 a.m. to avoid the worst of the heat. And though he’s grown more accustomed to conditions, two years ago, when he first started, the work felt “fuerte” — brutal.
“I mean, it’s tough,” said Ocoteno in Spanish. His job that day was made harder by the slightly humid air from the cluster of trees. Earlier in the week, he had endured even harsher conditions, working in the fields in Westley in Stanislaus County, as temperatures climbed to nearly 110 degrees.
Pushing through the first days in the heat is the most difficult, said Antonio Soto Soto, another laborer a few rows of trees away from Ocoteno. Hailing from Guanajuato, Soto Soto said he has worked in Stockton and nearby agricultural fields for at least 30 years now.
Frequent drinks from water and gatorade keeps Soto Soto going. But when it gets too hot, it’s best to stop, he said, even if one hasn’t reached his full contract hours.
“They’re fruits that people need,” said Soto Soto, noting that he’s worked in fields ranging from cherries to peaches, regardless of the climate. “It sounds bad to say, but unfortunately someone has to do this work because we all depend on it.”
In California, agricultural workers and others doing laborious outdoor work are entitled to 10-minute cool downs every two hours when temperatures reach 95 degrees or higher, per Cal OSHA, the state agency that sets workplace safety standards. The agency also requires employers to provide access to water and shade.
Increasingly hotter days may also make harvest windows harder to manage. Alexander Sambado, of the Linden-based agricultural company A. Sambado & Son, said a warm spring in San Joaquin County caused crops to come on faster than normal, causing crews to begin harvesting Gala apples about 10 days earlier than normal. He added that working in hotter conditions can also make completing a full workday more difficult for workers.
“I mean productivity is going to go down when it’s when everyone’s hot and not feeling well,” Sambado, 30, said. “Every worker tries to get their eight hours but if it’s getting to triple digits, then we’ve got to stop.”
‘What it’s gonna be like in the game’
For hours at a time this week, football players at San Joaquin Delta College ran drills as heat pressed in from all sides — from the overhead sun and the synthetic turf beneath their feet.
But conditions were even hotter for the players in previous years, said the team’s head coach, Gary Barlow. The field’s previous fill was made of ground-up tires, with the black rubber absorbing and radiating even more heat across the field.
By 4 p.m., after a practice scrimmage, some players had already peeled off their jerseys to cool down. Others stopped at the motorized hydration cart, a mobile water station equipped with drink tubes that allowed multiple players to hydrate at once.
Water is always on standby, said sophomores Treavon Spivey and Darian Stroman. It’s key to staying hydrated, they said, as hours of practice can leave them losing at least a gallon of water through sweat during a single practice.
Starting in late August, the team will open its season with games often scheduled around midday. Practices like this week’s are meant to prepare players for the even hotter conditions of late summer, Stroman said.
“This is what it’s gonna be like in the game, ” he said. “Make it hard for you in practice, it’s gonna be easy in the game.”
Although now accustomed to training in hot weather, Spivey said he remembers when the heat felt more intense. When he first started playing football at 8 years old, he practiced where little shade was available.
Now, after long practices, he and Stroman cool down with their teammates beneath the shade of trees near the college football field.
“If it was such a big deal,” said Stroman of overcoming the summer heat, “We would not be here.”