Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Cases Of Heat-Related Illness Skyrocket At Oregon Hospitals As Region Swelters
The Oregonian: Hospitals See Sharp Spike In Heat-Related Illness Visits As Oregon Temperatures Break Records
Oregon hospitals saw a massive spike over the weekend in the number of people experiencing heat-related illnesses, the Oregon Health Authority has confirmed. Delia Hernández, a spokesperson for the agency, said 128 people visited Oregon hospitals for heat-related illnesses on Sunday. That compares with just 24 heat-related hospital visits Friday and 56 such visits Saturday. (Ramakrishnan, 6/28)
The Oregonian: Portland Pools, MAX Service, Schools Closed Due To Extreme Heat
As Portland gets ready for another day of record-setting heat, many schools, services and businesses have closed due to high temperatures expected to reach 114 degrees. Among the most devastating of the closures may be the shuttering of Portland Parks & Recreation outdoor swimming pools. The agency explained in a recent email that temperatures will be too hot for their employees and guests to be outside. (Stein, 6/28)
NPR: The Pacific Northwest Has Limited A/C, Making The Heat Wave More Dangerous
As record highs are being broken throughout the Pacific Northwest, the lack of air conditioning in many homes in such cities as Portland and Seattle could make an already brutal heat wave even more dangerous. The temperature in Portland spiked on Sunday to 112 degrees Fahrenheit, easily smashing the previous record of 108 from just the day before. The high in the city this time of year averages in the 70s. In Seattle, it was so hot that the city closed a community pool due to "unsafe, dangerous pool deck temperatures," The Associated Press reports. (Neuman, 6/28)
Bloomberg: Ruthless Heat Wave Baking U.S. Northwest Triggers First Blackout
The unrelenting heat wave that shattered temperature records across the U.S. Pacific Northwest on Monday and threatens to smother the region for another six straight days has begun to trigger rolling blackouts in some parts. For the first time in the company’s history, Avista Corp. -- which supplies electricity to nearly 340,000 homes and businesses in the Northwest -- instituted rotating outages after parts of its system overloaded. The blackouts, which were affecting about 9,300 customers late Monday, are expected to last into Tuesday. Across all of Washington and Oregon, more than 30,000 customers were in the dark, according to PowerOutage.US, which compiles utility outage data. (Chediak, Sullivan and Saul, 6/28)
And in Arizona, California and Maryland —
AP: Maricopa County Investigates 53 Deaths During Heat Wave
Officials in Arizona’s largest county are investigating 53 suspected heat deaths during a weeklong hot spell earlier this month. Recently released Maricopa County data shows 53 deaths occurred during the week of June 12-19, which coincided with the heat wave that pushed temperatures up to 118 (48 Celsius). Those 53 deaths have been added to another 20 suspected heat deaths from earlier this year for a total of 73 under investigation so far for 2021. (Snow, 6/29)
San Francisco Chronicle: The Heat Wave Shattered Records In California, Too: 121 In Coachella, 90 In Tahoe
The heat wave baking the Pacific Northwest — pushing Portland and Seattle into record-setting triple digit weather on consecutive days last week, also made its way into the northernmost parts of California — according to the National Weather Service. Northern California counties including Lake, Shasta, Butte, Modo and Lassen experienced triple-digit heat. On top of an excessive heat warning, Oregon-bordering Siskiyou County was also issued a red flag warning — which refers to critical fire weather conditions including strong winds, low humidity and warm temperatures. South Lake Tahoe hit 90 degrees Sunday, breaking the previous heat record by three degrees, set in 1981. (Shaikh Rashad, 6/28)
The Baltimore Sun: Baltimore Health Officials Announce ‘Code Red’ Heat Advisory For Tuesday And Wednesday
With the heat index forecast to reach the triple digits in Baltimore this week, city officials announced the first “Code Red” heat advisory of the season for Tuesday and Wednesday. Temperatures are expected to be in the mid 90s through Wednesday, but it’ll likely feel more like 100 degrees at times, according to the National Weather Service. (Eberhart, 6/28)
