HOUSTON \u2013 The scorching summer heat in Houston isn\u2019t stopping outdoor workers from getting the job done.<\/p>\n
Along Hillcroft Avenue, crews are installing new utility poles to strengthen the power grid ahead of hurricane season. But for one foreman, keeping his team safe in the brutal heat is the top priority.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t want anyone to pass out or we don\u2019t want anyone to get heat exhaustion,\u201d said Darius Dotson, a foreman with Safe Route.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a cooler in the back, so essentially I get about 2 or 3 bags of ice, I keep it full of water, and I keep electrolytes just in case there\u2019s a lot of sweat,\u201d Dotson said.<\/p>\n
Hydration is survival, not just a suggestion<\/p>\n
Keeping their bodies cool and hydrated isn\u2019t just a recommendation \u2014 it\u2019s survival for these workers.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe take a break, we rotate every 10 minutes,\u201d Dotson said.<\/p>\n
The timing couldn\u2019t be more critical. KPRC 2 meteorologist Caroline Brown said this week will be the most intense stretch of heat so far this summer.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis week it is actually going to be by far the hottest. We are expecting 100 degrees \u2014 5 consecutive days in a row. We didn\u2019t even have that last year,\u201d Brown said.<\/p>\n
\u2018Hottest time of the year,\u2019 says landscaper<\/p>\n
Hugo Escobar, a landscaper working in the Houston heat, says the job demands more than just water to get through the day. During an on-camera exchange with KPRC 2 reporter Sandy Torres, Escobar listed his go-to hydration: water, lemonade, tea, Powerade and electrolytes. He said he\u2019s been doing this work for several years and confirmed this is, without question, the hottest time of year.<\/p>\n
Workers of color, immigrant workers hit hardest<\/p>\n
The AFL-CIO, a national labor union, reports that workers of color and immigrant workers are disproportionately impacted by heat-related dangers on the job.<\/p>\n
Dotson said foremen must know the warning signs before a worker\u2019s condition becomes life-threatening.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you notice someone is not sweating at all, as much as they did in the beginning \u2014 that is an automatic indication that they are getting overheated. They need to get water, and we need to cool their bodies off as fast as possible,\u201d Dotson said.<\/p>\n
Texas law limits local heat protections<\/p>\n
In 2023, a Texas law eliminated local rules requiring water breaks for outdoor workers, meaning Houston cannot force employers to schedule them. The AFL-CIO reports dozens of workers die and thousands more become ill from heat exposure every year.<\/p>\n
The KPRC 2 weather team says the heat is not letting up. <\/p>\n
Medical officials recommend pre-hydrating, dressing in light clothing and looking out for the people around you.<\/p>\n
Copyright 2026 by KPRC Click2Houston – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"HOUSTON \u2013 The scorching summer heat in Houston isn\u2019t stopping outdoor workers from getting the job done. Along…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":388392,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[3205,56,58,57],"class_list":["post-388391","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-houston","tag-heat","tag-houston","tag-houston-headlines","tag-houston-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/388391","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=388391"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/388391\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/388392"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=388391"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=388391"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=388391"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}