Heat threatens outdoor events

With temperatures hitting 100 in the Triangle area Saturday, the Red Cross and emergency personnel have been patrolling the state fairgrounds – the site of the Got to be NC Festival.

Kathy Ellen and about a dozen other Red Cross workers patrolled the area by bike and cart to look for people who have had too much heat.

Ellen said they look for people who are “sitting down, being kind of inactive, maybe having their head down on the table.”

Red Cross workers said they treated four people, including a pregnant woman, for heat-related symptoms on Saturday.

Dr. Leslie Marshall, with Rex Emergency Medicine, said heat-related illnesses develop slowly.

“Actually, it sneaks up and we very frequently aren’t drinking enough that we need to get rid of the extra heat burden that comes in,” Marshall said.

Marshall said the heat can cause confusion, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and can affect your coordination.

The temperatures forced the state Special Olympics to cancel outdoor games this weekend. Indoor games will go on as planned. About 30 athletes were treated Friday night for heat-related illnesses during the opening ceremony.

Organizers of the Tar River Barbecue Festival in Louisburg said the hot weather could have caused lower turnout for their event on Saturday.

Vendors were anticipating more than 5,000 people in downtown Louisburg for the day-long festival. A little more than 1,000 attended the event.