GREEN BAY, Wis. — Some people were brave enough to spend time outside today despite the steamy weather.
People started filling Bay Beach when it opened at 10 this morning and were still there in the evening.
“We were hoping today would be sunshiny, but we didn’t know it would be quite this much sunshine,” said Vicki Bender who was visiting the amusement park with her grandchildren.
She said they had been planning their Bay Beach trip since last week and were prepared to make a day of it.
“We have on sunscreen already. We have on sun hats. We have water that we froze ahead of time so it would be cold as it melted,” added Bender.
Staff at the park was working to make sure everyone stayed safe and cool.
“We’ll encourage people, you know, to take a break, is kind of what we’ll do when we’re roaming through the park, letting people know, take some time in shade, especially with kids,” said Donald Shadian, the seasonal assistant manager at the park.
He said the park decided to close the slide because of the heat. We checked the temperature of a bench near the slide, and it was 117 degrees at about 11 this morning.
People should also pay attention to the heat at playgrounds. A slide registered at 168 degrees and a swing at 150 degrees.
“Surfaces in the sun, including dark plastics, can reach temperatures in access of 150 degrees, and the skin will burn at 130,” said Dr. Ken Johnson, and emergency physician at HSHS St. Vincent Hospital.
He told us a burn can happen in 15 to 20 seconds.
“So whenever you’re going to have your kid play on the playground, go and touch the surfaces to see what the temperatures are,” added Dr. Johnson.
He also advised anyone burnt from a playground to treat the burn like a sunburn and said you should go to the doctor if it starts blistering.
