Typically, to my memory, the hottest time of the year in Southern California is early September. It got so hot last month that the heat, coupled with the overuse of electricity (air conditioning) actually melted the wires on the pole in the backyard. The guys from the Department of Water and Power came right out, thankfully, and I sketched them as they worked. They were quite friendly and were amused by my sketching one of them up on the pole, and their equipment on our lawn.