The Associated Press
PORTLAND, Ore. — At least seven people are suspected to have died from hyperthermia in the Portland, Ore., area since the hot spell began a week ago.
Authorities there kept cooling shelters open through Sunday night as a likely record-breaking heat wave brought scorching weather to the normally temperate region. Nearly 250 people reportedly used the overnight shelters on Friday night.
The most recent suspected heat-related death was announced by Clackamas County officials on Saturday, Portland television station KOIN-TV reported. County officials said the elderly man died in his home, where he did not have a working air conditioner. The other six suspected hyperthermia deaths occurred earlier in the week in Multnomah, Umatilla and Marion counties.
The National Weather Service issued an excessive heat warning for Portland and Seattle lasting through late Sunday evening. No such advisories were issued for the North Olympic Peninsula, which began a cooling trend on Friday and is expected to be at usual temperatures this week.
Climate change is fueling longer heat waves in the Pacific Northwest, a region where week-long heat spells were historically rare, according to climate experts.
Residents and officials in the Northwest have been trying to adjust to the likely reality of longer, hotter heat waves following last summer’s deadly “heat dome” weather phenomenon that prompted record temperatures and deaths, including four in Clallam and Jefferson counties.
