From San Diego beaches to the closing day of Comic Con, people across the county were looking to find relief from the summer heat, Sunday. Management at the historic Plunge public pool in Mission Beach told NBC 7 the number of guests tripled in just the past week because of daily rising high temp eratures. “We’ve had people lining up at the front door before we open at 7 a.m. to get a workout in or just have some recreational swim time,” said Joseph Sanferrare, aquatics coordinator at Plunge. The nearly century-old indoor pool is located between Belmont Park and the Mission Beach boardwalk, just yards away from the Pacific Ocean. The nearly century-old indoor Plunge facility features a10,500 square foot pool enclosed in a building with a retractable roof, July 26, 2026. Among the swimmers, Sunday, were 5-year-old Thiago Aran and 7-year-old Jeremy Smoot, who spent the morning taking swim lessons while their parents watched from the pool deck. Their families drove from East County to escape the heat even though they have air conditioning at home. “The way we look at it, as long as we’re cooling down (we’ll run the AC). It’s mainly me, I’m the one who can’t with the heat. It’s OK, we’ll pay for it,” said Esther Aran sitting next to her husband, Ignacio. He said the family has always found a swimming pool during hot weather. “We used to live up in Alpine, and it was hot. But, there was a recreational pool. Now we’re in Spring Valley, and we want Thiago to learn how to swim,” Igancio Aran said. Tammy Smoot, who brought her son, Jeremy, to the pool, said the heat can make it difficult for children to spend time outside. “It’s hard we have to keep him inside, and he drinks a lot of water. It’s just difficult being 7 years old and being in the heat,” Smoot said. Since 1925, swimmers of all ages have come to the Plunge to cool off and enjoy the water. Beyond providing relief from the heat, instructors say the lessons help prepare children for safe swimming wherever they go. “When they come to the pool or when they go to the beach, they’ll know how to be safe and they’ll know how to keep their bodies cool when it gets super hot like this,” swim instructor Olivia Lawyer said. High surf and stronger rip currents continued over the weekend at Mission Beach, where many people went for relief from the heat, July 26, 2026. The Plunge sits just steps from the Pacific Ocean, but beach conditions can present different risks. While the water off Mission Beach was considered safe for swimming over the weekend, beach closures remained in effect south of Silver Strand because of sewage bacteria from Mexico. Higher surf also prompted warnings about stronger rip currents. For Thiago and Jeremy, though, the day’s focus was on having fun while building confidence in the water. “Doing back flips!” Thiago said. “Diving!” Jeremy said. This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC San Diego. AI tools helped convert the story to a digital article, and an NBC San Diego journalist edited the article for publication. ...read more read less