Atascadero’s maintenance crews get earlier start during heat wave

The City of Atascadero’s Public Works Department is starting work an hour earlier to accommodate for the heat.

Maintenance crews will now begin at 6 a.m. to ensure labor-intensive work is done during the cool, morning hours.

Atascadero’s Deputy Public Works Director Matt Pigeon said they also schedule cooler activities like irrigation checks and pressure washing during the hottest period of the day.

“We find a lot of cooling activities that are a necessity,” Pigeon said. “Usually they have their lunch break around that time anyways, and we make sure that they’re taking mandatory breaks.”

City Maintenance Worker Chris Deaton said in addition to bringing two jugs of water to work to keep cool, crews are also required to wear long clothing for protection.

“It really comes in handy when we’re doing irrigation checks,” Deaton said.

In accordance with OSHA guidelines, the maintenance workers are also trained in heat safety.

“We implement a heat and injury prevention program where we train the guys on how to identify heat illness in each other as well as themselves, to keep them all safe,” Pigeon said.