Highland Park Hard at Work Despite Triple Digit Heat

Highland Park was hard at work on Tuesday afternoon, despite temperatures that topped triple digits.

According to the Weather Underground, temperatures at the MDGRCI Weather Station in Mount Washington peaked at 101 degrees on Tuesday.

The National Weather Service (NWS) predicts that those scorching temperatures are here to stay for a few more days.

NWS on Tuesday issued a "special weather statement'' for the valleys and foothills of Southern California that warns of temperatures reaching 105 and 107 degrees.

The warmer-than-normal temperatures should drop later in the week, as cooler air moves in, according to the weather service website.

NWS' five day forecast shows that temperatures will again crack the 100 degree barrier on Wednesday and Thursday in Highland Park and Mount Washington before "cooling down" to 91 degrees on Friday.

Jose Rodriguez, a firefighter at station 12 on N. Figueroa Street in Highland Park, said it had been a "busy day" thanks to the heat. 

In addition to handling a handful of heat related medical incidents, Rodriguez said that an engine at the station had been called in to fight a brush fire on the 405 on the west side of Los Angeles.

Near the Fire Station, 45-year-old Preston Dagons kept a smile on his face despite having worked a full day in the heat cleaning sidewalks along Figueroa.

"This has definitley been one of the hottest days of the year," Dagons said. "It's okay though, it's cooling down now."

At the , proprietor of Mardy's Munchies Steve Rossen gregariously chatted with customers while wearing a long sleeve chef's coat.

"I've worked for 30 years in hot kitchens," Rossen said. "This is nothing."