The annual holiday to recognize American workers wrapped up in Colusa County on Monday with outings to the lake, picnics in the park, and backyard barbecues.
The 140-year-old celebration recognizes the contributions workers have made to America’s strength, prosperity, and well-being.
“I like the three-day Labor Day weekend because it’s the last relaxing holiday of the summer,” said Cheryl Thurmond, at East Park reservoir on Saturday. “It’s sort of the last hurrah before fall and the more hectic holidays. Labor Day means getaway.”
A lot of people spent the weekend indoors due to an intense, long-duration heatwave, uncharacteristic of September. Temperatures 10 to 25 degrees above normal for this time of year prompted appeals for energy conservation and fueled fires around the northstate.
Despite the heat, campsites dotted the landscape at the reservoir, one of the most popular Labor Day getaway places for Central California and Bay Area residents.
“When it’s hot like this, you just have to get in the water,” said Alex Sandovol, of Walnut Creek, who was part of a larger family group camping on the Stonyford side of the lake. “The best thing is that it cools off at night; a lot of places don’t.”
Campers said they chose East Park for a family reunion because they had people who came from all over Northern California and nearby states; some spent the day while others spent the entire weekend.
“It’s a pretty convenient location,” Thurmond said. “The campsites are spread out so if we make too much noise, it doesn’t bother anyone but the rattlesnakes. Just kidding; I’m sure they’re here but we’ve never actually seen any.”
The first Labor Day was celebrated on Tuesday, Sept. 5, 1882. The celebration of workers spread to 23 states as state holidays before President Grover Cleveland signed a law on Aug. 28, 1894 making the first Monday in September a federal Labor Day holiday.
On Friday, Gov. Gavin Newsom, in a proclamation, acknowledged that California and the nation owe a deep debt to workers in a multitude of critical jobs who sustained the country through unprecedented times and are now driving the recovery.
“We recognize and thank the men and women who work day in and day out to meet the needs of Californians and keep our state moving forward,” the proclamation reads.
In addition to the scorching temperatures over the Labor Day holiday, dry conditions and low humidity turned brush everywhere in the state into tinder. Four deaths were reported over the Labor Day weekend as some 4,400 firefighters battled 14 large fires around the state, with 45 new blazes on Sunday alone, said Anale Burlew, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection deputy chief. ■