Charles McDuffie, an employee of Barry Landscaping, in Clarion Miss. emphasized that water breaks as extremely important in dealing with high temperatures. “We work about an hour, take a break, drink some water, sit in the shade and get back to it,” said McDuffie, who typically works outside from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily.

Randy Graves, co-owner of Madison Planting and Design Group in Canton, Miss. said the heat has forced him to consider changing his work schedule. He said employees who were working four 10-hour days may soon switch to a five-day work week. He has also emphasized precautions to avoid hyperthermia in his training meetings after the temperature reached 90-92 degrees.

Brandon Vinson, owner of Arbor Tree Service in Byram, Miss. said his employees start early and finish by noon.

“Early in the morning, I give all the boys potassium pills at about 7 or 8 a.m., which keep these guys from cramping up,” he said, adding workers constantly visit the water cooler while using chain saws and moving limbs.

“The bad thing about it is, we cut all our shade out as we go.?EUR??,,????'??

Source: Clarion Ledger