KALISPELL — Kalispell road crews are continuing to battle the hot weather.
Brady Pelc and his Kalispell Traffic and Signs team work under the blazing sun on hot concrete for eight hours a day, five days a week.
Pelc’s team works to improve crosswalks and signs around Kalispell.
He told MTN News that the asphalt can sometimes reach upwards of 100 degrees.
“The asphalt is about 100 degrees and then we light up the asphalt to about 500 degrees. So, it gets pretty hot. So we get out early like this morning. It’s still only about seventy degrees outside,” explained Pelc.
Besides starting early Pelc has a few other strategies to keep himself and his team hydrated and cool.
“We drink a lot of water, you know take breaks, get in the air conditioning for a couple of minutes. We go through a lot of sunscreen and we do wear pants and closed toed shoes to protect ourselves from the heat.”
Technician Tom Tinney has been on the job for three years, and says while he drinks a gallon of water a day, the intense heat sometimes makes him dizzy.
He told MTN News that if he’s ever feeling dizzy he makes sure to get extra water and get out of the sun.
Pelc added that if any worker feels sick from heat, he immediately takes them to Urgent Care for treatment.
