Enduring summer heat: A look back at Phoenix in the '80s
How Phoenix battled summer heat in the '80s
Complaining about the Arizona summer heat is a timeless tradition, a true rite of passage. FOX 10's Nicole Krasean delved into the archives, unearthing a reminder that living and working in the desert has always come with its share of high temperatures.
PHOENIX - Complaining about the summer heat is a rite of passage in Arizona – it's been that way forever.
FOX 10's Nicole Krasean went into the FOX 10 vault to find a reminder that living and working in the desert has always been a bit heated.
What they're saying:
Anyone who's not a newcomer to the Valley of the Sun knows that the heat is always a factor. So, we're taking you back in time to June 1980 and our crew's search for the hottest jobs in the Valley.
Though decades have passed, we heard similar responses to the question "what is the hottest summer job in Phoenix?"
"Oh I'd say probably the city of Phoenix workers working in the streets."
"The people working the roads, like on the highways, stuff like that."
"Maintenance workers."
"I would say construction workers."
"I got a friend, absolutely, he works in construction."
"Construction workers."
"Probably anybody that has to be doing construction out on the roads, especially with like the asphalt and stuff."
Dig deeper:
What about the people serving those in the heat? Those jobs looked a little different in 1980.
The food wagons of the 1980s, now called food trucks, faced similar heat-related challenges as they do nowadays.
"Well, one of them is, for one, the fryers and the equipment that's inside of the truck for one, and then you gotta fight with the elements outside, so it's the combination of both," Darnell Smith of Mr. Wonderful's Chicken and Waffles said.
But, love for the job, and the community, makes even the hottest shifts worthwhile.
"I'm one of those ones that actually loves what I do, so I love to come out and promote my business and feed the masses," Smith said.
Local perspective:
Phoenix reached 117 degrees on June 18, 2025.
If you are someone looking to get relief from the heat but don't know where to go, click here for the local heat relief network.
Arizona weather forecast: Thursday marks the hottest day of the week in Phoenix
Phoenix reached 117 degrees on Thursday. The current record for today is 118 degrees, so a record was not broken.