By MATT GOURAS
Associated Press Writer

HELENA, Mont. - If a record-breaking heat wave doesn’t lift soon, cattle rancher Sharon McDonald may see her hay crop turn to dust. Oppressive temperatures eased a bit Friday in some parts of the West, but McDonald’s central Montana ranch baked under triple-digit heat. Forecasters reported little relief in the days ahead, saying the weather system that brought the high temperatures could last well into next week.

Extreme heat plagued much of Idaho, Nevada, Utah, Oregon and Washington state.

In Montana, temperatures above 100 degrees are usually not seen until August. The normal July high in Helena is 83 degrees - not the high 90s seen Friday. Triple-digit records were set or tied in several Montana cities, including Great Falls and Billings at 104 degrees each. The mercury reached 105 in the north-central Montana town of Havre and at the Gallatin Field Airport near Bozeman.

Boise, Idaho reached 105 degrees Friday, and some found it too hot to play at a public water fountain.

Temperatures were expected to ease slightly in Southern California. Phoenix saw a modest drop, a somewhat cooler 112 degrees compared to 115 on Thursday.

Heat remained an issue along the border. The bodies of six suspected illegal immigrants have been found since Monday in southern Arizona deserts, all likely victims of heat illness while trying to walk into the U.S. from Mexico.

In eastern Oregon, which set 15 record highs on Thursday, temperatures largely dropped to the high 90s. In the center part of the state, population growth and a burgeoning demand for air conditioning meant a rise in electricity demand. T

The National Forest Service reported at least 16 fires over 500 acres in size burning throughout the West, including three new ones that sparked Thursday.

Fire danger was most extreme in Arizona, California, Oregon and Utah - although a “red flag” warning was posted for much of the West.

In California, heat was mostly confined to inland regions, with triple-digit readings in the Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys.

The mercury topped 100 in the Woodland Hills area of Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley and in the high desert cities of Lancaster and Palmdale, while out east by the Colorado River, the little city of Needles sweltered in 115-degree heat.

But temperatures in most of Los Angeles and the populous Southern California coastal zone were in the 70s and low 80s, while San Francisco and Monterey Bay cities were even cooler.

But the heat will hover over most of the far West through at least the end of next week, said Kelly Redmond, a regional climatologist for the National Weather Service. He said it could migrate further inland and cover more of the West, including Colorado, as the week goes on.

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