Police in Vancouver, British Columbia said that they have responded to 65 deaths suddenly since Friday’s heat wave. About a dozen deaths were being investigated by authorities in Washington and Oregon.
Vancouver police Sergeant. Steve Addison released a statement.
Meteorologists called the heat wave a dome of high pressure that swept over the Northwest. This was made worse by human-caused climate changes, which are making extreme weather more common and more intense. Many cities including Portland, Seattle and Portland broke all-time heat records with temperatures reaching over 115 degrees Fahrenheit (46 Celsius) in some cases.
Crews are closely watching wildfires, which can burst in intense heat and drought conditions that grip the American West.
The temperatures in Washington, Oregon, and British Columbia had dropped significantly by Wednesday, but the interior regions still experienced triple-digit temperatures as the easterly weather system moved east.
Environment Canada, the government agency, issued heat warnings Wednesday in Saskatchewan and southern Alberta. For parts of Washington, Oregon and Idaho, heat warnings were also in effect.
Environment Canada released a statement saying that Alberta will experience a “long-term, dangerous and historic heat wave” for the next week.
High temperatures and humidity levels are also expected to increase the risk of heatstroke.
Lisa Lapointe is the chief coroner of British Columbia. She said that her office receives about 130 reports of death every four days. She said at least 233 deaths had been reported between Friday and Monday afternoon. Coroners are still trying to determine if the record-breaking heat was a factor. Many homes in Vancouver, like Seattle, don’t have air conditioners.
Two people died from hyperthermia according to the King County medical examiner’s Office, an area that covers Seattle. This means their bodies were dangerously overheated.
Three men aged 51, 75, and 77 died in Snohomish County after suffering heatstroke at home. This was according to the Medical Examiner’s Office.
Bremerton, Washington officials said that heat could have caused four deaths in the Puget Sound area.
According to OSHA, heat was the cause of the death of a worker in an Oregon plant nursery on Saturday.
According to Andres Pablo Lucas Lucas, the owner of Brother Farm Labor Contractor, the man was originally from Guatemala. He had apparently only arrived in the United States a few months before.
