HOPPING HOT SPELL : FIREFIGHTERS BATTLE TWO SOUTHLAND WILDFIRES, TEMPERATURES THAT SEND KIDS SCURRYING TO POOLS.

Byline: Keith Stone Daily News Staff Writer

With broiling weather forecast for the rest of the week, Los Angeles County lifeguard Kirk Sunada knows his Sylmar pool will be filled with lots of kids - breaking lots of rules.

And Monday was no exception, as many youngsters at El Cariso Park pool chose to break the no-running rule for the simple reason that the concrete was hot enough to blister feet in just seconds.

``Walk! Walk!'' 23-year-old Sunada shouted through his megaphone.

Throughout Southern California, the third day of a heat wave filled pools, malls and ice cream shops, as thousands of firefighters battled stubborn wildfires near Idyllwild and in the Angeles National Forest.

Since Saturday, Los Angeles city and county firefighters doused more than 20 smaller brush fires, with more expected to flare before the heat wave breaks.

``Our fire season is just getting off. It is getting off to a big start,'' said Los Angeles city Fire Department spokesman Brian Humphrey.

The National Weather Service predicts that hot weather will linger at least through the July Fourth holiday weekend.

The coast is expected to begin cooling off today to the mid-70s, but relief from 100-degree weather will come to the San Fernando Valley much more slowly, said Andrew Rorke, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service.

``By the weekend, we will be down to the 90s in the valleys,'' he said. ``They will still be pretty roasty toasty.''

Monday, the 94-degree high at the Los Angeles Civic Center was not enough to touch the 107-degree record set on that day in 1985.

The weather service also reported 106 in Woodland Hills, 102 in Van Nuys, 105 in Northridge, 97 in Burbank, 103 in Lancaster, 77 in Santa Monica, 75 at Los Angeles International Airport, 116 in Palm Springs, 121 in Death Valley, and 109 in Monrovia.

The culprit is a ``very large, summertime high-pressure system'' sitting over Southern California, keeping the air stagnant and hot.

The hot weather has dried out vegetation, creating near-perfect conditions for a rash of wildfires, the most severe among them the blaze outside of Idyllwild in Riverside County.

Idyllwild was evacuated Monday as was the adjacent mountain communities of Mountain Center and Pine Cove, officials said.

At one point Monday as much as 30 percent had been contained, but by late afternoon those gains had been lost, officials said.

``What they have, they don't have no more,'' said Will Donaldson, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Riverside County Fire Department.

Nearly 1,000 firefighters are attacking the fire, which has consumed more than 8,000 acres since starting Saturday at a legal firing range, officials said.

Fire departments have joined the pitch battle from across California and as far away as New Mexico, with more on the way.

In the Angeles National Forest, more than 760 firefighters on the ground and in the air battled a 1,700-acre fire in the San Gabriel Canyon, 10 miles north of Azusa.

The wildfire is expected to be contained by Wednesday evening, said U.S. Forest spokeswoman Randi Jorgensen.

No major injuries were reported from the fire, which began Saturday in two nearby areas, Jorgensen said. An illegal campfire caused one, and the other remains under investigation.

No houses or other buildings were damaged. ``The fire has been moving away from any occupied areas,'' Jorgensen said.

The Idyllwild and Angeles National Forest fires were two of the most severe in a series sparked by hot weather during the past few days.

``We believe we have yet to see the peak of these incidents,'' Humphrey said.

Firefighters are bracing for the Fourth of July holiday when they expect illegal fireworks to set even more brush fires.

In the city, the fire department is sending an extra helicopter to reported brush fires and has dispatched additional engines to Sun Valley, Woodland Hills, the Laurel Canyon area, West Hills and Porter Ranch.

Additionally, a team including three engines has been stationed in the San Fernando Valley, ready to respond at the first report of smoke, Humphrey said.

County firefighters also are on alert, sending two additional engines and a helicopter to reports of brush fires.

The American Red Cross urged people to make sure to clear debris from their gutters and roofs and keep handy rakes, an ax, bucket, shovel and other items that could be used to fight fires.

The Red Cross booklet, ``Wildfire - Are You Ready,'' is available at local chapter offices.

For some people, the hot weather brings hot business.

At Air Conditioning Service in Van Nuys, the company's five technicians were out on calls all day and were probably going to work late into the night.

``The phone never stops ringing,'' said receptionist Susie Martin. ``We've been waiting. June was supposed to be hot - but nothing.''

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Photo

Photo: Germani Gallegos, 11, left, Estevan Gallegos, 9, and Daniel Zamora, 10, submerge themselves in the El Cariso pool in Sylmar, where kids tried to beat the heat.

David Crane/Daily News