West Coast Baking Under Extreme Heat As First Day Of Summer Looms

LOS ANGELES (CBSNewYork) -- Just one day before the official start to summer, and the West Coast is baking under an extreme heatwave.

Triple digit temperatures are grounding flights, buckling roads, and have left many people wondering when they'll get some much needed relief.

People across the southwest are bracing for record-breaking temperatures with excessive heat warnings.

"We don't have a pool and the hose can only squirt so much, so we come here to cool off," one grandmother said at a public pool in Arizona.

Phoenix could reach 120 degrees, forcing dozens of flight cancellations because many smaller regional planes can't fly in temperatures above 118 degrees.

Las Vegas is expected to hit upwards of 117 degrees.

The oppressive heat has air conditioners working overtime across California, with many people turning to pools and cooling centers to find some relief.

"Making sure to stay in the shade more, stay in the air conditioning," are just some of the things mother Karina Sangren says she'll do. "It's way too hot."

Meanwhile, scorching temperatures cracked and buckled roadways near Sacramento.

"Because we had a wet winter, the soil was saturated underneath the roadway," Gilbert Mohtes from the California Department of Transportation tells CBS News' Chris Martinez.

The extreme heat is also being blamed for several wildfires, including one near Big Bear Lake that's already burned nearly a thousand acres -- an early reminder of what could be a dangerous and long fire season ahead.

The heatwave is expected to stay until the end of the week. Last year, the heat caused more deaths nationwide than any other weather condition.