by Susan Fried

With moderate weather typically the norm whatever the season, most Seattleites aren’t used to combating the recent plague of oppressive heat. With only a third of city dwellers possessing home air conditioners finding ways to stay cool in crippling temperatures has become an essential pastime.

Taking advantage of the area’s myriad public amenities, South Seattleites have flocked in bunches to local parks, lakes, and water playgrounds in the name of escaping summer’s furnace.