With no relief from the heat forecast for inland parts of the San Francisco Bay Area until next week, much of the region continued to cook with higher than normal temperatures on the July 4th holiday.

According to KPIX chief meteorologist Paul Heggen, inland highs on Independence Day and Friday will range from 95°-105°, with highs around San Francisco Bay hitting the 80s to near 90°. The regions coastal communities will remain popular with thermometer readings only reaching the 70s. 

In warmer inland areas, there will be some limited overnight relief with low temperatures in the mid 60s to low 80s.

Wednesday was slightly less scorching than Tuesday, with fewer records for the date with both San Rafael (100°, breaking a 2001 record of 99°) and Livermore (110°, breaking a 2001 record of 109°) setting new new marks for the date.

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Heggen says residents should see a slight decrease in temperatures Saturday and Sunday, but it will still be extremely hot inland. He noted that the National Weather Service has extended the inland Excessive Heat Warning and bayside Heat Advisory all the way through Wednesday, but speculated the extension could be “a couple days too many (especially for the Heat Advisory).” 

However, Heggen said temperatures will continue to run above-average, even as the region trends closer to “hot” instead of “crazy hot.”

The Red Flag Warning the East Bay hills and interior mountains of the North Bay has been extended all the way through 9 p.m. Saturday.

Residents are advised to drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out of the sun, and check up on relatives and neighbors. Bay Area counties have opened cooling centers across the region for those who do not have air conditioning.

The increased fire danger due to the higher temperatures remained evident as crews dealt with several large fires in the Bay Area and Northern California, including the Thompson Fire in Butte County that forced some 28,000 people to evacuate the area around Oroville, and the Toll Fire in Napa County just north of Calistoga. 

On Thursday morning, the new Grande Fire broke out in a remote area of Stanislaus County. So far it has burned over 300 acres.  

The hot temperatures led to the cancellation of some daytime July 4th festivities (in Antioch and Yountville) and fireworks shows (in St. Helena and Healdsburg), but many holiday celebrations are continuing as planned.

Parks closed Tuesday by the East Bay Regional Park District will remain closed at least through Friday, according to district officials. However, swim facilities and shoreline regional parks were set to remain open through heat event. The district will reassess conditions and provide additional information Friday evening. Information on all the parks closed by the hot weather can be found on the EBRPD website.

The San Francisco Giants called up Hayden Birdsong on June 26 to make his major league debut after posting a 2.51 ERA in 13 minor league starts to begin the year. His debut was about what you would expect from a rookie: 4.2 innings, three earned runs allowed and five strikeouts. It ended in a no-decision, but his second start against the vaunted Braves offense would earn him that coveted win.

In five innings in Atlanta, Birdsong allowed two runs on four hits, walking two and striking out five. Following the game, Birdsong spoke to the media about his outing and what it meant to him.

After falling just shy of five innings in his first start, Birdsong had one big goal: get through five.

“I was like, ‘I’m finishing my inning.’ Im not coming out in 4.2 again. Obviously, it worked out, I had less pitches,” the rookie said.

Birdsong threw ten less pitches in his outing, which allowed him to work with some more wiggle room to reach that five inning mark. In doing that, he was allowed to reflect on what his two big league starts have taught him about himself.

“I’ve learned that I can compete at this level and these guys around me are more than willing to play behind me and I love that. They’re very welcoming to me and I’m very grateful for that,” Birdsong remarked.

Not only do his teammates suport him, but his family made the trip to Atlanta to see him pitch.

“I can’t describe it. It’s great. Honestly, I had more people here than I had in San Fran last week, a lot more of my friends, a lot more of my buddies,” he said of the support. “Very thankful they could make it down, it’s a lot closer, obviously. They don’t have to drive 25, 30 hours whatever it is from home.”

The Illinois native had his friends and family there for his first big league win, which is very special. The only thing that comes close is the gatorade shower you traditionally get after such a big accomplishment, but Birdsong had some different thoughts on his.

“At first, I was kind of freaking out cause I have my one pair of contacts that I have in my eyes right now. I’ll get more tomorrow, but I was like ‘Oh god,’ they started to burn and I was like ‘please don’t mess my contact up,’” he joked. “But it was great. I loved it.”

The Giants have been in desperate need of pitching with so many injuries, and the team needed a player like Birdsong to come up and make quality starts. As one of their top prospects, he is doing so and rightly got to celebrate on Tuesday. Now, it’s back to the Wild Card chase.