Triple digit temperatures in parts of LA as heat wave scorches Southland

With temperatures soaring across the Southland, small businesses in Los Angeles are taking precautions to stay cool. 

By late morning Wednesday, temperatures had already reached the triple-digits in Van Nuys, Chatsworth, Woodland Hills and Acton.

The heat will continue as the weekend approaches, with a minor dip in temperatures anticipated Friday before heating up again for Saturday and Sunday, when "widespread triple-digit heat is expected," including "kiln- like" heat of 115 degrees or more in the hottest areas, forecasters said.

Forecasters said the heat will persist through Monday, when the high- pressure system finally begins weakening. But some valley areas will likely still have extreme heat into next week.

In Sherman Oaks, the staff for the Teppan-Yaki Supreme told CBSLA Wednesday the temperature in the food truck with the grill going could get up to 120 degrees.

"So employees will step out from time to time for breaks," said Melissa Gonzalez of Teppan-Yaki Supreme. "We have a cooler there with ice and we have it filled with water."

"The sun hits from this side early in the day," explained Gonzalez. "We keep that door closed.  And we'll put boxes just to keep the sun from hitting that area.  And then we'll just keep this door open."

Meanwhile, the California Independent System Operator warned that it may be issuing Flex Alerts, which are calls for voluntary power conservation during peak hours, generally between 4 and 9 p.m.

"Lowering electricity use during that time will ease strain on the system, and prevent more drastic measures, including rotating power outages," according to Cal-ISO.

During Flex Alerts, residents are urged to set thermostats to 78 degrees or higher, avoid using large appliances and turn off unnecessary lights.

Cal-ISO noted that its current forecast shows that peak electricity demand could exceed 48,000 megawatts on Monday, the highest demand of the year.