7 Things Arizonans Do to Survive Summer That Sound Crazy to Everyone Else

Getting through an Arizona summer takes more than sunscreen and a water bottle.

Arizonans plan their days, their bills and even their hikes around the heat, and visitors may find some of it hard to believe.

Here’s what locals do to make it through, and the rules behind some of it.

Note: This is general information, not medical advice. Heat-safety guidance is subject to change, so check with the Arizona Department of Health Services.

1. Summer Shutoff Ban

The Arizona Corporation Commission’s 2026 summer moratorium on utility shutoffs ran from June 1 through October 15.

Arizona Public Service, Tucson Electric Power and UNS Electric opted not to disconnect residential customers at all during that stretch.

Regulated utilities could instead suspend disconnections on any day the National Weather Service predicted temperatures above 95 degrees.

Regulated electric cooperatives follow disconnection tariffs set by each company.

Customers’ bills weren’t paused or forgiven, so you were still responsible for paying them.

2. 82-Degree Rental Cap

If you rent in Phoenix, the city requires your landlord to keep a unit with air conditioning at a maximum of 82 degrees.

A unit with an evaporative cooler gets a higher maximum of 86 degrees.

Your landlord’s cooling system decides which number applies to your unit.

3. Dog-Free Trails at 100 Degrees

If you hike in Phoenix with your dog, the city sets a temperature limit.

Phoenix’s heat safety page says dogs are prohibited on city hiking trails when the temperature is 100 degrees or warmer.

If it’s already 100 degrees when you’re ready to leave, the hike is off for your dog.

4. Precooling Before On-Peak Hours

Salt River Project (SRP) customers on time-of-day price plans pay more for power during on-peak hours.

According to an October 2025 guide from SRP, on-peak hours run 6-9 p.m. on its Conserve plan and 5-10 p.m. on its Save and Manage Demand plan.

The advice is to precool your home during lower-cost off-peak hours, then raise the thermostat several degrees once on-peak hours begin.

Then you coast.

SRP says customers on its time-of-day plans save an average of 4% a year by using less power on-peak.

A pool pump should run during off-peak hours too.

5. 8 A.M. Trail Cutoff

On days when the National Weather Service issues an Extreme Heat Warning, Phoenix restricts some mountain trails from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The list includes Echo Canyon and Cholla at Camelback Mountain, the Piestewa Peak Summit trail, and Holbert, Mormon and Hau’pal Loop at South Mountain.

You still have more than 100 miles of South Mountain trails to hike, with fewer than 7 miles restricted.

The city’s trail page lists 45 closure days in 2024.

Mountain rescues on closed trails fell from 57 in 2021 to 35 in 2024.

On a warning day, you hike the listed trails before 8 a.m. or after 5 p.m.

6. Heat Relief Sites

Maricopa County sets up cooling centers, respite centers and hydration stations during the summer from May 1 to September 30.

Sites can be community centers, churches or other community organizations where you can get water and a cool indoor place.

In 2025, the network had more than 200 locations.

Phoenix says the Heat Relief Network offers free water and indoor locations to cool off.

Pima County opened most of its cooling centers on May 4 and said they would stay open through October.

It had 45 partners providing cooling centers, respite sites and hydration stations.

Libraries will also serve as cooling spaces, according to Tucson TV station KOLD.

7. Hot-Car Rescue Law

Arizona’s hot-car rescue law, A.R.S. 12-558.02, limits your liability if you enter a locked, unattended vehicle to remove a minor or a confined animal.

To be protected, you need a good-faith belief that the child or animal faces imminent danger of physical injury or death if it stays inside.

Before you enter, you also have to notify a peace officer, an emergency medical service provider or first responder, or an animal control enforcement agency.

Then you can use only the force the situation requires, and you stay with the child or animal until the person you contacted arrives.

You lose the protection if you fail to follow these steps and cause unnecessary or malicious damage to the vehicle.

Reflective Street Coating

Phoenix says it had applied a reflective coating to 200 miles of streets as of a September 2026 city release.

The coating is a reflective sealcoat that goes on top of existing asphalt.

The coating lowers surface temperatures by up to 12 degrees.

If you drive in Phoenix, you may already be on one of those 200 miles.

Maricopa County Heat Deaths

Maricopa County’s 2025 Heat-Related Deaths Report, dated April 2026, reports 430 heat-related deaths in 2025.

That was down from 608 in 2024 and 645 in 2023, and you can read the full report on the county’s site.

A March 2026 county release had put the preliminary 2025 count at 427.

Workplace Heat Guidelines

The Industrial Commission of Arizona approved workplace heat safety guidelines in April 2026, according to Cronkite News.

The guidelines don’t represent a standard or rule, but the commission’s FAQ says employers could be cited if conditions aren’t sufficiently within them and are considered likely to cause death or serious physical harm.

It emphasizes adequate water, rest and shade, plus training and acclimatization for employees.

Each employer is encouraged to build a heat plan that is practical, effective and matched to the heat risk that workplace faces.

If you work outdoors, water, rest and shade are the basics that plan is built around.

Hot Pavement Burns

Arizona’s summer pavement can burn bare skin, according to the Arizona Burn Center at Valleywise Health.

External surface temperatures can reach 180 degrees Fahrenheit, a June 2021 warning noted.

Stepping on hot asphalt, concrete or flagstone in bare feet or flimsy shoes can cause serious burns.