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Jed Boal reportingThe mercury soared to 100 degrees in Salt Lake City today for the 10th straight day, setting a new record. This as Utahns celebrated Pioneer Day by the hundreds of thousands.
Out on the hot asphalt the temperature rose with the morning sun.
John Sikes, Parade Spectator: “We were expecting it to be hot so we did what we could.”
People expected a triple-digit day and decided to put up a fight. Parade goers packed plenty of water. They bought or brought their own shade and even some custom cooling contraptions.
The heat got to everyone to some degree. And put a scowl on a few faces, but most took it all in stride.
Not an easy day to day to pull a handcart two miles through a parade, but Utah’s modern-day pioneers are pretty certain their ancestors had it tougher.
Steve Dew, Handcart Pioneer: “They had to go over rough ground; we have nice pavement to go over."
Andrew Olsen of the SLCC spirit band was eager for ice at the end of the line. He carried a 30-pound sousaphone, puffing and playing all the way.
Andrew Olsen, SLCC Spirit Band: “There was no water drinking at all. I was dead.”
The heat also took its toll on some of the floats which needed to be tuned or towed by the float doctor.
There were paramedics out in Liberty Park as the mercury hovered around one hundred, so there was plenty of help for anyone who may have needed it.
