Longest heat wave this year to make hot jobs hotter
| Friday, Jul 01 2011 07:00 PM
Last Updated Friday, Jul 01 2011 07:54 PM
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On this hot July morning on the west side of Kern County lead laboratory technician and insect trapping specialist for ID Services heads out on her quad to take soil samples most of the day on this farmland.
On a hot, dusty, July morning Mitch Shimer rides around this farmland on her quad taking soil samples. Shimer works for ID Services as a lead laboratory technician and insect trapping specialist. She is busy this Friday morning taking soil samples to test for nematodes, off Highway 58, west of town. They usually start early in the morning and learn to deal with the heat.
Stalks of wheat stand with the morning sun coming shining through Friday near the Frito Lay plant off Highway 58.
Mitch Shimer's quad bike kicked up a cloud of dust as she rode over a harvested potato field near the Frito-Lay plant off Highway 58 Friday.
Another cloud surrounded her colleague Moises Fuentes as he rode his quad, pausing to mark off parts of the field with little orange flags.
Shimer stopped, hopped off the seat and stabbed a "T"-shaped, 18-inch soil probe into the ground. A power line buzzed overhead.
There was a light breeze and by 10 a.m. it had hit only 78 degrees in Buttonwillow. But with temperatures expected to climb back up into the triple digits all next week, Shimer's job collecting soil samples is one of many in Kern County that will heat up quickly.
While we are unlikely to see any record-breaking heat, said National Weather Service meteorologist Kevin Durfee, steady triple digit highs will likely continue until next Friday, which would make for the longest stretch of high heat this year.
Durfee said there will be "no marine pushes at all to save us."
And with a predicted Sunday high of 107 degrees in Bakersfield, according to another of its meteorologists, Michael Bingham, the holiday weekend weather likely won't be a picnic, either.
Durfee said "tropical moisture" will blow into California from across Mexico, bringing the possibility of "isolated thunderstorms" at higher elevations.
In the valley, he said, the humidity will "creep up later in the weekend." As a result, he said, "the heat is going to seem pretty oppressive."
The Central Valley's oppressive heat is normal, but that doesn't make working in it any easier. When The Californian asked about readers' "hot jobs" early last week, we received responses from workers in industries as diverse as oil and education. Shimer sent in one of them.
On Friday she pulled the soil probe out and coaxed its dirt contents into a Ziploc using a screwdriver.
"Well, that's one in the bag," she said.
Shimer said she repeats this process 16 times over 10 acres to produce just one soil sample, which is taken back to ID Services lab in McFarland to be analyzed for nematodes. The field is 80 acres.
Nematodes are "worm-like" organisms, Shimer said, that can only be seen through a microscope, and can "deform (a crop) or stunt its growth or cause it to have ugly symptoms."
Shimer -- along with at least one other colleague at all times -- collects samples from fields throughout the county after their crops have been harvested and, ideally, after fields have been leveled.
Once they bring the soil samples back to the lab, the company's owner and resident nematologist, Alan Butterfield, determines how many and what kind of nematodes are in the samples.
Shimer said she also spends part of her time walking through fields, checking for harmful insects or mold. Based on the results of the testing and field work, ID Services can recommend action to their clients.
It's "not exactly a glamorous job," Shimer said. It's "hot and dirty," and by the time she returns to the lab in the afternoon, she's "totally exhausted."
"It's definitely much easier in winter than it is in summer," she said.
According to another reader response, even work people might not know exists can be affected by the kind of heat and humidity expected for next week.
Richard Kennedy, a senior technician at Pacific Transport Refrigeration, said "not many people are aware of (his) trade."
Kennedy repairs transport refrigeration units, or "reefers," which he said he considers "one of the most abused pieces of equipment on the road."
Though working on refrigerated trailers may sound cool, Kennedy said he'll "wind up working way past eight hours" during the summer.
"When it tops out at 100," he said, "most of these units start having issues."
Brandon Segee recently started a mobile oil changing service. Working around cars outside, he said in an email, makes the heat even hotter.
"My job is tougher when the mercury soars above 100 degrees because the average car engine puts out about 30-60 degrees of heat," he said.
Dave Rangel, an athletic trainer and equipment manager at Stockdale High School, said what makes his work especially difficult when temperatures rise is making sure others are adequately hydrated.
"I have at least 150 football players and at least 75 cross country runners ," he said in an email. "Making sure they have plenty of fluids is the first priority at practices."
For Shimer, though, keeping an eye on her co-workers is not only practical in the heat, it's psychologically necessary.
"Sometimes the only thing that keeps you going is knowing there's someone out there with you," she said watching Fuentes stir up a trail of dust.
Do you have a "hot job?" Tell us about it by sending an email to local@bakersfield.com with "hot jobs" in the subject line.
