Winnipeggers try to cool off as heat wave persists

Mark Boissoneault woke up Monday to dozens of calls from Winnipeggers desperate for their air conditioning units to be fixed.

The owner of Tradesman Heating and Air Conditioning said the 30 air conditioning repairs they’ve done daily since a heat wave hit the city is triple the number they do on a regular summer day.

“We actually can’t keep up,” he said.

The mercury hit 35.3 C in Winnipeg Sunday, according to Environment Canada. The humidex made it feel like 48.

Boissoneault said his firm has had to turn down jobs and are prioritizing longtime customers and people who are at risk in the heat.

He’s also concerned for his employees and has been urging them to drink lots of water and take breaks throughout the day.

“We’re trying not to burn our staff out,” he said.

On Monday, the temperature hit 34.8 C by 6 p.m, as a heat warning for southern Manitoba continued. The humidex was 45.

The highs for the rest of the week are expected to be in the late-20s with a chance of showers on Friday, Environment Canada said.

The scorching weather threw a wrench into the plans of at least one family who had planned a weekend excursion.

Kristen Sanderson, who was trying to keep cool Monday at Maples Splash Pad, said her daughter was forced to return home early from a camping trip with her aunts and uncles.

“They just couldn’t handle being out in the tents like that, so she’s been stuck inside with me for the last two days since then,” Sanderson said of her six-year-old daughter Auryanna. “These last couple of days the heat wave has just been insane.”

She said it’s been too hot to do anything and decided the splash pad near her house would be a good chance to get outside and cool off.

The city announced Monday it extended most spray pad hours from 8:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. — opening an hour early and closing an hour later during the extreme weather.

Joannes Mengivil was also at the Adsum Drive splash pad with his two daughters — a frequent routine over the past few days.

“It’s really hard to stay inside at home. Even with the AC it’s really hard,” he said.

His family is also trying to prepare only fresh foods like fruits and salads, so the cooking doesn’t make his apartment even hotter.

Kevin Rebeck, president of the Manitoba Federation of Labour, noted the Workplace Safety and Health Act does not set a temperature at which workers must stop. Employers are required to create their own safety measures for extreme weather.

“As temperatures are changing and more extremes are coming, I think it’s an area that does need to be continuously watched,” he said.

Manitoba issued a heat advisory Friday, urging those at risk to consume water and stay indoors to avoid heat-related illnesses.

Daytime highs shattered temperature records in seven communities Sunday. Four others tied their record highs.

McCreary was the provincial hot spot, reaching 36.5 C and breaking the record of 32 C, set in 1979.

The city has opened the doors to leisure centres and libraries to provide drinking water and shelter from the heat during operating hours.

Eight community centres in the city are serving as cooling spaces and there are nine hydration stations.

tiago.resko@freepress.mb.ca

— with files from Tyler Searle and Maggie Macintosh