Arizona is boosting efforts to protect people from the extreme heat after hundreds died last summer

By ANITA SNOW
Associated Press

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Arizona’s new heat officer said Friday that he is working with local governments and nonprofit groups to open more cooling centers and ensure homes have working air conditioners in a more unified effort to prevent another ghastly toll of heat-related deaths this summer. There were more than 900 such deaths statewide last year. Dr. Eugene Livar is a physician with the Arizona State Department of Health Services. He was named earlier this year as the first heat officer of a U.S. state. The increased coordination comes as federal agencies seek better ways to protect people from the dangerous heat waves.