Over 100 deaths may be tied to historic NW heat wave
(Update: Adding Oregon counties breakdown)
Including 63 in Oregon; numbers may change as causes of death confirmed
SALEM, Ore. (AP) — The grim toll of the historic heat wave in the Pacific Northwest became more apparent as authorities in Canada, Washington state and Oregon said Wednesday that they were investigating more than 100 deaths likely caused by scorching temperatures that shattered all-time records.
Oregon health officials said more than 60 deaths have been tied to the heat, with the state’s largest county, Multnomah, blaming the weather for 45 deaths since the heat wave began Friday.
"As of June 30, the State Medical Examiner’s Office has received report of 63 deaths that preliminary investigation suggests may be associated with the Pacific Northwest heat wave," Oregon State Police Captain Tim Fox said.
"This number may change in either direction as more information or reports are received from each County Medical Examiner’s Office," Fox told NewsChannel 21. "Again, these are preliminary numbers as some investigations are still in progress and final causes of death have not yet been determined."
Fox offered the current breakdown by county of apparently heat-related deaths.
Multnomah – 45
Marion – 9
Washington – 5
Clackamas – 2
Columbia – 1
Umatilla -1
In Vancouver, British Columbia, police said they had responded to more than 65 sudden deaths since Friday. Washington state authorities had linked more than half-dozen deaths to the heat, but that number was likely to rise.
“Vancouver has never experienced heat like this, and sadly dozens of people are dying because of it,” Vancouver police Sgt. Steve Addison said in a statement.
The heat wave was caused by what meteorologists described as a dome of high pressure over the Northwest and worsened by human-caused climate change, which is making such extreme weather events more likely and more intense. Seattle, Portland and many other cities broke all-time heat records, with temperatures in some places reaching above 115 degrees Fahrenheit (46 Celsius).
While the temperatures had cooled considerably in western Washington, Oregon and British Columbia by Wednesday, interior regions were still sweating through triple-digit temperatures as the weather system moved east into the intermountain West and the Plains.
Amid the dangerous heat and drought gripping the American West, crews were closely monitoring wildfires that can explode in the extreme weather.
The government’s Environment Canada agency issued heat warnings Wednesday for southern Alberta and Saskatchewan. Heat warnings also were in place for parts of Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana.
In Alberta, “a prolonged, dangerous, and historic heat wave will persist through this week,” Environment Canada said in a release.
The very high temperatures or humidity conditions also were expected to pose an elevated risk of heatstroke or heat exhaustion.
n a statement, Oregon’s Multnomah County medical examiner blamed 45 heat deaths there on hyperthermia, an abnormally high body temperature caused by a failure of the body to deal with heat. The victims ranged in age from 44 to 97.
The county that includes Portland said that between 2017 and 2019, there were only 12 hyperthermia deaths in all of Oregon.
“This was a true health crisis that has underscored how deadly an extreme heat wave can be, especially to otherwise vulnerable people,” Dr. Jennifer Vines, the county’s health officer, said in a statement.
