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The triple-digit temperatures in the Inland Empire have residents seeking relief wherever possible.
Some are finding creative ways to cool down and escape the scorching heat, like those heading to LA Kings Riverside Ice Town.
“We are busy, busy, busy,” Monica Viola, the director of figure skating and ice hockey at the Riverside rink, said Friday morning. “People are just trying to escape the heat.”
The heat wave has been blanketing the Inland Empire and Southern California this week, and temperatures in the 100s are sticking around through Monday, Aug. 23. The National Weather Service has in place extreme heat warnings through Saturday evening, warning residents to take precautions. By Tuesday and into next week, temperatures will begin to drop into the 90s in many parts of the region.
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An ice skater flies by as Paige Ondap, 17, and Stephanie De Ocera, 18, hold hands to keep their balance as their friend Kelly Hebenton, 17, all from Beaumont, looks on on Thursday, AUg. 21, 2025. The group was at LA Kings Riverside Ice Town for the open skate hours. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
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An ice skater flies by as Paige Ondap, 17, and Stephanie De Ocera, 18, hold hands to keep their balance as their friend Kelly Hebenton, 17, all from Beaumont, looks on on Thursday, AUg. 21, 2025. The group was at LA Kings Riverside Ice Town for the open skate hours. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
Many of those at Riverside Ice Town, 10540 Magnolia Ave., in recent weeks have been “first timers and many high schoolers,” Viola said. Their largest classes right now, for adults ages 14 and up, is “completely full” despite it being offered four days a week.
The afternoons though — and often the hottest time of day — is when the ice is busiest. The open skate is drawing many who are in high school, Viola said.
It’s fun to see people getting out there for the first time too, she said.
It’s not just the weather that’s been bringing in more skaters, since the COVID-19 shutdown she said they have really seen an uptick in skaters coming in.
And don’t be deterred if you’ve never been on ice skates. The rink offers a time on weekends where they “cone off an area especially for beginners,” Viola said. There are buckets those first-time skaters use for balancing too, so they can “hold onto them and push them.”
The private space can help those trying out the sport for the first time feel more comfortable too, she said.
So while the scorching summer heat is here, the ice may be just what’s in order.
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