A warning sign on the truck reads hot as Stan Hofer from Blacktop Inc. wipes his brow as he works on sealing cracks at the St. Stephen's parking lot with his cousin, David Hofer, Friday in Billings, Mont. Billings broke a record Friday as temperatures hit 104 degrees.

Helena, Mont. ? If a record-breaking heat wave doesn’t lift soon, cattle rancher Sharon McDonald may see her hay crop turn to dust.

Oppressive temperatures eased a bit Friday in some parts of the West, but McDonald’s central Montana ranch baked under triple-digit heat. Forecasters reported little relief in the days ahead, saying the weather system that brought the high temperatures could last well into next week.

In Montana, where cattle outnumber residents by more than 2 to 1, livestock and people sought shade and drought-weary farmers watched for damage to grain.

“We are trying to get our hay up before it disintegrates,” said McDonald, a rancher near Melville. “It just gets crispy and just falls apart.”

Extreme heat plagued much of Idaho, Nevada, Utah, Oregon and Washington state.

Air conditioners – and even swamp coolers – were predictably hot sellers at the hardware store.

“I’m telling you, it has been nuts,” said Dennis VanDyke, a manager at Power Townsend in Helena. “The only thing I am getting calls for is air conditioners.”

VanDyke said some people prefer swamp coolers, which use a fan and the condensation of water to cool the air, over the more power-hungry ai conditioning units.

“They are being bought faster than we can put them on the shelves,” he said.

In Montana, temperatures above 100 degrees are usually not seen until August. The normal July high in Helena is 83 degrees – not the high 90s seen Friday. Triple-digit records were set or tied in several Montana cities, including Great Falls and Billings at 104 degrees each. The mercury reached 105 in the north-central Montana town of Havre and at the Gallatin Field Airport near Bozeman.

In Utah, high school teacher Lois Wolking said she was escaping the summer heat by heading indoors. Temperatures were down a few degrees in Salt Lake City on Friday, but still hovered around 100.

“A swamp cooler, Netflix and reading is how we’re surviving,” the 58-year-old East High teacher said.

Boise, Idaho, reached 105 degrees Friday, and some found it too hot to play at a public water fountain.

“We’ll probably leave soon. Two or three o’clock is about my limit before I want to get in some air conditioning,” mother Monica Player said as children ran through jets of water.

Temperatures were expected to ease slightly in Southern California. Phoenix saw a modest drop, a somewhat cooler 112 degrees compared to 115 Thursday. With the approach of Arizona’s summer rainy season, humidity levels have started climbing along with power demand.

In eastern Oregon, which set 15 record highs on Thursday, temperatures largely dropped to the high 90s. In the center part of the state, population growth and a burgeoning demand for air conditioning meant a rise in electricity demand.

Officials said the fire season could turn fearsome following the dry heat.

“It’s an early start and a hot start,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Chris Velver in Great Falls.

The National Forest Service reported at least 16 fires over 500 acres in size burning throughout the West, including three new ones that sparked Thursday.