In the summers, the sky is jet black when Raul Cruz arrives at this Imperial Valley sugarcane field to start his day. He chops, cleans and bundles the crop, taking heed as the sun rises. It's hard work, but so is starting at 4 a.m., even though he knows it's the safest thing when temperatures in this California desert frequently soar into the triple digits.
“We just have to because we need to beat the heat," said Cruz, who’s worked here for 15 years. They finish work by 9 or 10 a.m. to avoid the risk of heat stroke, he added, but when heat starts creeping up around 8 a.m., "mentally, it's stressful."
