Northwest US faces hottest day of intense heat wave
Northwest US faces hottest day of intense heat wave
The sun shines near the Space Needle, Monday, June 28, 2021, in Seattle. Seattle and other cities broke all-time heat records over the weekend, with temperatures soaring well above 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.8 Celsius). (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
CORRECTS BYLINE TO LISA BAUMANN NOT CHRIS GRYGIEL People flock to Bloedel Donovan park at Lake Whatcom in Bellingham, Wash., during an uncharacteristic Pacific Northwest heat wave Sunday, June 26, 2021. Temperatures were expected to rise to 112 degrees in Portland, Oregon, on Sunday and 111 degrees at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on Monday. The heat wave was also moving into Idaho, where about 3,000 athletes were competing in an Ironman Triathlon in Coeur d’Alene. The event includes a 2.4 mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride and a 26.2-mile marathon run as temperatures top 100 degrees. (AP Photo/Lisa Baumann)
Sabina Ehmann and her daughter Vivian, visiting Seattle from North Carolina, are prepared with umbrellas to shield the sun during a heat wave hitting the Pacific Northwest, Sunday, June 27, 2021, in Seattle. Yesterday set a record high for the day with more record highs expected today and Monday. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)
Two people jump from a pedestrian bridge at Lake Union Park into the water during a heat wave hitting the Pacific Northwest, Sunday, June 27, 2021, in Seattle. A day earlier, a record high was set for the day with more record highs expected today and Monday. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)
Kayakers and boaters ply the waters of Elliott Bay with the Seattle skyline behind during a heat wave hitting the Pacific Northwest, Sunday, June 27, 2021. The day before set a record high for the day with more record highs expected today and Monday. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)
Groups of people float on inflatable devices on Lake Union during a heat wave hitting the Pacific Northwest, Sunday, June 27, 2021, in Seattle. A day earlier, a record high was set for that date with more record highs expected today and Monday. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)
While the city reached a record temperature of over 110 degrees, people gathered at Peninsula Park to cool off, Sunday, June 27, 2021, in Portland, Ore. (Mark Graves/The Oregonian via AP)
While Portland, Ore., reached a record temperature of over 110 degrees Sunday, June 27, 2021, people gathered at Salmon Street Springs water fountain in Portland to cool off. (Mark Graves/The Oregonian via AP)
While Portland reached a record temperature of over 110 degrees Sunday, June 27, 2021 people gathered at Salmon Street Springs water fountain in Portland to cool off. (Mark Graves/The Oregonian via AP)
People stand in the spray from the Everett Fire Department’s fire hose sprinkler station at Walter E. Hall Park on Saturday, June 26, 2021 in Everett, Wa. (Olivia Vanni/The Daily Herald via AP)
A child kicks water in a large puddle at Walter E. Hall Park on Saturday, June 26, 2021 in Everett, Wa. (Olivia Vanni/The Daily Herald via AP)
A parking garage sign shows the temperature at 96 degrees Fahrenheit in the shade, Monday, June 28, 2021, in downtown Seattle. Seattle and other cities broke all-time heat records over the weekend, with temperatures soaring well above 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.8 Celsius). (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
People walk as the sun shines behind the Space Needle, Monday, June 28, 2021, in Seattle. Seattle and other cities broke all-time heat records over the weekend, with temperatures soaring well above 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.8 Celsius). (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
A parking garage sign shows the temperature at 96 degrees Fahrenheit in the shade, Monday, June 28, 2021, in downtown Seattle. Seattle and other cities broke all-time heat records over the weekend, with temperatures soaring well above 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.8 Celsius). (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Keeping cool in record setting temperatures, Beau Jess and daughter River, 3, reach for falling water as they play at the Splash Pad in Haller Park on Monday, June 28, 2021 in Arlington, Wash. (Andy Bronson/The Herald via AP)
Susan Lange, left, and Debbie Thulen set off on inflatable paddle boards for a trip down the Stillaguamish River during record setting heat on Monday, June 28, 2021 in Arlington, Wash. (Andy Bronson/The Herald via AP)
Jim Martin, owner of Espresso Connection, feels the heat from a vent at one of his Marysville coffee stands, closed for the afternoon due to excessive heat, on Monday, June 28, 2021 in Marysville, Wash. (Andy Bronson/The Herald via AP)
A display at an Olympia Federal Savings branch shows a temperature of 107 degrees Fahrenheit, Monday, June 28, 2021, in the early evening in Olympia, Wash. Seattle, Olympia, and other cities in the Pacific Northwest endured the hottest day of an unprecedented and dangerous heat wave on Monday, with temperatures obliterating records that had been set just the day before on Sunday. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
A person walks past the Dick’s Drive-In in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood, Monday, June 28, 2021, in Seattle. The walk- and drive-up restaurant, which is not air conditioned, closed early Sunday and all day Monday due to excessive heat. Seattle and other cities in the Pacific Northwest endured the hottest day of an unprecedented and dangerous heat wave on Monday, with temperatures obliterating records that had been set just the day before on Sunday. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
A sign is shown on the door of a Molly Moon’s Ice Cream store in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood, Monday, June 28, 2021, in Seattle. The store was closed Monday due to excessive heat as Seattle and other cities in the Pacific Northwest endured the hottest day of an unprecedented and dangerous heat wave on Monday, with temperatures obliterating records that had been set just the day before on Sunday. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
U.S. Postal Service letter carrier Alexis Chumney takes a long drink in front of a Wedgwood convenience store as temperatures pass a hundred degrees, Monday, June 28, 2021 in Seattle. Chumney, 28, is working a longer day than usual after some of her colleagues didn’t make it into work during the record heat. (Ken Lambert/The Seattle Times via AP)
The Kangaroo and Kiwi restaurant - in the old Carnegie Library on Market Street NW - uses misters to keep it outdoor patrons cool on the hottest day in Seattle history, Monday, June 28, 2021. (Dean Rutz/The Seattle Times via AP)
A sign in the window of the Dick’s Drive-In in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood is shown Monday, June 28, 2021, in Seattle. The walk- and drive-up restaurant, which is not air conditioned, closed early Sunday and all day Monday due to excessive heat. Seattle and other cities in the Pacific Northwest endured the hottest day of an unprecedented and dangerous heat wave on Monday, with temperatures obliterating records that had been set just the day before on Sunday. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
A person walks past a Molly Moon’s Ice Cream store in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood, Monday, June 28, 2021, in Seattle. The store was closed Monday due to excessive heat as Seattle and other cities in the Pacific Northwest endured the hottest day of an unprecedented and dangerous heat wave on Monday, with temperatures obliterating records that had been set just the day before on Sunday. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Seattle pushed into uncharted - and unwelcome - territory with historic highs. The hottest day of an unprecedented and dangerous heat wave scorched the Pacific Northwest on Monday, June 28, 2021, with temperatures obliterating records that had been set just the day before. (Dean Rutz/The Seattle Times via AP)
The sun shines near the Space Needle, Monday, June 28, 2021, in Seattle. Seattle and other cities broke all-time heat records over the weekend, with temperatures soaring well above 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.8 Celsius). (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
The sun shines near the Space Needle, Monday, June 28, 2021, in Seattle. Seattle and other cities broke all-time heat records over the weekend, with temperatures soaring well above 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.8 Celsius). (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
CORRECTS BYLINE TO LISA BAUMANN NOT CHRIS GRYGIEL People flock to Bloedel Donovan park at Lake Whatcom in Bellingham, Wash., during an uncharacteristic Pacific Northwest heat wave Sunday, June 26, 2021. Temperatures were expected to rise to 112 degrees in Portland, Oregon, on Sunday and 111 degrees at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on Monday. The heat wave was also moving into Idaho, where about 3,000 athletes were competing in an Ironman Triathlon in Coeur d’Alene. The event includes a 2.4 mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride and a 26.2-mile marathon run as temperatures top 100 degrees. (AP Photo/Lisa Baumann)
CORRECTS BYLINE TO LISA BAUMANN NOT CHRIS GRYGIEL People flock to Bloedel Donovan park at Lake Whatcom in Bellingham, Wash., during an uncharacteristic Pacific Northwest heat wave Sunday, June 26, 2021. Temperatures were expected to rise to 112 degrees in Portland, Oregon, on Sunday and 111 degrees at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on Monday. The heat wave was also moving into Idaho, where about 3,000 athletes were competing in an Ironman Triathlon in Coeur d’Alene. The event includes a 2.4 mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride and a 26.2-mile marathon run as temperatures top 100 degrees. (AP Photo/Lisa Baumann)
Sabina Ehmann and her daughter Vivian, visiting Seattle from North Carolina, are prepared with umbrellas to shield the sun during a heat wave hitting the Pacific Northwest, Sunday, June 27, 2021, in Seattle. Yesterday set a record high for the day with more record highs expected today and Monday. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)
Sabina Ehmann and her daughter Vivian, visiting Seattle from North Carolina, are prepared with umbrellas to shield the sun during a heat wave hitting the Pacific Northwest, Sunday, June 27, 2021, in Seattle. Yesterday set a record high for the day with more record highs expected today and Monday. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)
Two people jump from a pedestrian bridge at Lake Union Park into the water during a heat wave hitting the Pacific Northwest, Sunday, June 27, 2021, in Seattle. A day earlier, a record high was set for the day with more record highs expected today and Monday. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)
Two people jump from a pedestrian bridge at Lake Union Park into the water during a heat wave hitting the Pacific Northwest, Sunday, June 27, 2021, in Seattle. A day earlier, a record high was set for the day with more record highs expected today and Monday. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)
Kayakers and boaters ply the waters of Elliott Bay with the Seattle skyline behind during a heat wave hitting the Pacific Northwest, Sunday, June 27, 2021. The day before set a record high for the day with more record highs expected today and Monday. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)
Kayakers and boaters ply the waters of Elliott Bay with the Seattle skyline behind during a heat wave hitting the Pacific Northwest, Sunday, June 27, 2021. The day before set a record high for the day with more record highs expected today and Monday. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)
Groups of people float on inflatable devices on Lake Union during a heat wave hitting the Pacific Northwest, Sunday, June 27, 2021, in Seattle. A day earlier, a record high was set for that date with more record highs expected today and Monday. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)
Groups of people float on inflatable devices on Lake Union during a heat wave hitting the Pacific Northwest, Sunday, June 27, 2021, in Seattle. A day earlier, a record high was set for that date with more record highs expected today and Monday. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)
While the city reached a record temperature of over 110 degrees, people gathered at Peninsula Park to cool off, Sunday, June 27, 2021, in Portland, Ore. (Mark Graves/The Oregonian via AP)
While Portland, Ore., reached a record temperature of over 110 degrees Sunday, June 27, 2021, people gathered at Salmon Street Springs water fountain in Portland to cool off. (Mark Graves/The Oregonian via AP)
While Portland reached a record temperature of over 110 degrees Sunday, June 27, 2021 people gathered at Salmon Street Springs water fountain in Portland to cool off. (Mark Graves/The Oregonian via AP)
People stand in the spray from the Everett Fire Department’s fire hose sprinkler station at Walter E. Hall Park on Saturday, June 26, 2021 in Everett, Wa. (Olivia Vanni/The Daily Herald via AP)
A child kicks water in a large puddle at Walter E. Hall Park on Saturday, June 26, 2021 in Everett, Wa. (Olivia Vanni/The Daily Herald via AP)
A parking garage sign shows the temperature at 96 degrees Fahrenheit in the shade, Monday, June 28, 2021, in downtown Seattle. Seattle and other cities broke all-time heat records over the weekend, with temperatures soaring well above 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.8 Celsius). (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
A parking garage sign shows the temperature at 96 degrees Fahrenheit in the shade, Monday, June 28, 2021, in downtown Seattle. Seattle and other cities broke all-time heat records over the weekend, with temperatures soaring well above 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.8 Celsius). (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
People walk as the sun shines behind the Space Needle, Monday, June 28, 2021, in Seattle. Seattle and other cities broke all-time heat records over the weekend, with temperatures soaring well above 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.8 Celsius). (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
People walk as the sun shines behind the Space Needle, Monday, June 28, 2021, in Seattle. Seattle and other cities broke all-time heat records over the weekend, with temperatures soaring well above 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.8 Celsius). (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
A parking garage sign shows the temperature at 96 degrees Fahrenheit in the shade, Monday, June 28, 2021, in downtown Seattle. Seattle and other cities broke all-time heat records over the weekend, with temperatures soaring well above 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.8 Celsius). (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
A parking garage sign shows the temperature at 96 degrees Fahrenheit in the shade, Monday, June 28, 2021, in downtown Seattle. Seattle and other cities broke all-time heat records over the weekend, with temperatures soaring well above 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.8 Celsius). (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Keeping cool in record setting temperatures, Beau Jess and daughter River, 3, reach for falling water as they play at the Splash Pad in Haller Park on Monday, June 28, 2021 in Arlington, Wash. (Andy Bronson/The Herald via AP)
Keeping cool in record setting temperatures, Beau Jess and daughter River, 3, reach for falling water as they play at the Splash Pad in Haller Park on Monday, June 28, 2021 in Arlington, Wash. (Andy Bronson/The Herald via AP)
Susan Lange, left, and Debbie Thulen set off on inflatable paddle boards for a trip down the Stillaguamish River during record setting heat on Monday, June 28, 2021 in Arlington, Wash. (Andy Bronson/The Herald via AP)
Susan Lange, left, and Debbie Thulen set off on inflatable paddle boards for a trip down the Stillaguamish River during record setting heat on Monday, June 28, 2021 in Arlington, Wash. (Andy Bronson/The Herald via AP)
Jim Martin, owner of Espresso Connection, feels the heat from a vent at one of his Marysville coffee stands, closed for the afternoon due to excessive heat, on Monday, June 28, 2021 in Marysville, Wash. (Andy Bronson/The Herald via AP)
Jim Martin, owner of Espresso Connection, feels the heat from a vent at one of his Marysville coffee stands, closed for the afternoon due to excessive heat, on Monday, June 28, 2021 in Marysville, Wash. (Andy Bronson/The Herald via AP)
A display at an Olympia Federal Savings branch shows a temperature of 107 degrees Fahrenheit, Monday, June 28, 2021, in the early evening in Olympia, Wash. Seattle, Olympia, and other cities in the Pacific Northwest endured the hottest day of an unprecedented and dangerous heat wave on Monday, with temperatures obliterating records that had been set just the day before on Sunday. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
A display at an Olympia Federal Savings branch shows a temperature of 107 degrees Fahrenheit, Monday, June 28, 2021, in the early evening in Olympia, Wash. Seattle, Olympia, and other cities in the Pacific Northwest endured the hottest day of an unprecedented and dangerous heat wave on Monday, with temperatures obliterating records that had been set just the day before on Sunday. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
A person walks past the Dick’s Drive-In in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood, Monday, June 28, 2021, in Seattle. The walk- and drive-up restaurant, which is not air conditioned, closed early Sunday and all day Monday due to excessive heat. Seattle and other cities in the Pacific Northwest endured the hottest day of an unprecedented and dangerous heat wave on Monday, with temperatures obliterating records that had been set just the day before on Sunday. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
A person walks past the Dick’s Drive-In in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood, Monday, June 28, 2021, in Seattle. The walk- and drive-up restaurant, which is not air conditioned, closed early Sunday and all day Monday due to excessive heat. Seattle and other cities in the Pacific Northwest endured the hottest day of an unprecedented and dangerous heat wave on Monday, with temperatures obliterating records that had been set just the day before on Sunday. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
A sign is shown on the door of a Molly Moon’s Ice Cream store in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood, Monday, June 28, 2021, in Seattle. The store was closed Monday due to excessive heat as Seattle and other cities in the Pacific Northwest endured the hottest day of an unprecedented and dangerous heat wave on Monday, with temperatures obliterating records that had been set just the day before on Sunday. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
A sign is shown on the door of a Molly Moon’s Ice Cream store in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood, Monday, June 28, 2021, in Seattle. The store was closed Monday due to excessive heat as Seattle and other cities in the Pacific Northwest endured the hottest day of an unprecedented and dangerous heat wave on Monday, with temperatures obliterating records that had been set just the day before on Sunday. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
U.S. Postal Service letter carrier Alexis Chumney takes a long drink in front of a Wedgwood convenience store as temperatures pass a hundred degrees, Monday, June 28, 2021 in Seattle. Chumney, 28, is working a longer day than usual after some of her colleagues didn’t make it into work during the record heat. (Ken Lambert/The Seattle Times via AP)
U.S. Postal Service letter carrier Alexis Chumney takes a long drink in front of a Wedgwood convenience store as temperatures pass a hundred degrees, Monday, June 28, 2021 in Seattle. Chumney, 28, is working a longer day than usual after some of her colleagues didn’t make it into work during the record heat. (Ken Lambert/The Seattle Times via AP)
The Kangaroo and Kiwi restaurant - in the old Carnegie Library on Market Street NW - uses misters to keep it outdoor patrons cool on the hottest day in Seattle history, Monday, June 28, 2021. (Dean Rutz/The Seattle Times via AP)
The Kangaroo and Kiwi restaurant - in the old Carnegie Library on Market Street NW - uses misters to keep it outdoor patrons cool on the hottest day in Seattle history, Monday, June 28, 2021. (Dean Rutz/The Seattle Times via AP)
A sign in the window of the Dick’s Drive-In in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood is shown Monday, June 28, 2021, in Seattle. The walk- and drive-up restaurant, which is not air conditioned, closed early Sunday and all day Monday due to excessive heat. Seattle and other cities in the Pacific Northwest endured the hottest day of an unprecedented and dangerous heat wave on Monday, with temperatures obliterating records that had been set just the day before on Sunday. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
A sign in the window of the Dick’s Drive-In in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood is shown Monday, June 28, 2021, in Seattle. The walk- and drive-up restaurant, which is not air conditioned, closed early Sunday and all day Monday due to excessive heat. Seattle and other cities in the Pacific Northwest endured the hottest day of an unprecedented and dangerous heat wave on Monday, with temperatures obliterating records that had been set just the day before on Sunday. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
A person walks past a Molly Moon’s Ice Cream store in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood, Monday, June 28, 2021, in Seattle. The store was closed Monday due to excessive heat as Seattle and other cities in the Pacific Northwest endured the hottest day of an unprecedented and dangerous heat wave on Monday, with temperatures obliterating records that had been set just the day before on Sunday. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
A person walks past a Molly Moon’s Ice Cream store in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood, Monday, June 28, 2021, in Seattle. The store was closed Monday due to excessive heat as Seattle and other cities in the Pacific Northwest endured the hottest day of an unprecedented and dangerous heat wave on Monday, with temperatures obliterating records that had been set just the day before on Sunday. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Seattle pushed into uncharted - and unwelcome - territory with historic highs. The hottest day of an unprecedented and dangerous heat wave scorched the Pacific Northwest on Monday, June 28, 2021, with temperatures obliterating records that had been set just the day before. (Dean Rutz/The Seattle Times via AP)
Seattle pushed into uncharted - and unwelcome - territory with historic highs. The hottest day of an unprecedented and dangerous heat wave scorched the Pacific Northwest on Monday, June 28, 2021, with temperatures obliterating records that had been set just the day before. (Dean Rutz/The Seattle Times via AP)
SEATTLE (AP) — The hottest day of an unprecedented and dangerous heat wave scorched the Pacific Northwest on Monday, with temperatures obliterating records that had been set just the day before.
Seattle hit 108 degrees Fahrenheit (42 Celsius) by evening — well above Sunday’s all-time high of 104 F (40 C). Portland, Oregon, reached 116 F (46.6 C) after hitting records of 108 F (42 C) on Saturday and 112 F (44 C) on Sunday.
The temperatures were unheard of in a region better known for rain, and where June has historically been referred to as “Juneuary” for its cool drizzle. Seattle’s average high temperature in June is around 70 F (21.1 C), and fewer than half of the city’s residents have air conditioning, according to U.S. Census data.
The heat forced schools and businesses to close to protect workers and guests, including some places like outdoor pools and ice cream shops where people seek relief from the heat. COVID-19 testing sites and mobile vaccination units were out of service as well.
The Seattle Parks Department closed one indoor community pool after the air inside became too hot — leaving Stanlie James, who relocated from Arizona three weeks ago, to search for somewhere else to cool off. She doesn’t have AC at her condo, she said.
“Part of the reason I moved here was not only to be near my daughter, but also to come in the summer to have relief from Arizona heat,” James said. “And I seem to have brought it with me. So I’m not real thrilled.”
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.
Zeke Hausfather, a scientist at the climate-data nonprofit Berkeley Earth, said Monday that the Pacific Northwest has warmed by about 3 degrees F (1.7 degrees C) in the past half-century. That means a heat wave now is about 3 degrees warmer than it would have been before — and the difference between 111 degrees and 114 is significant, especially for vulnerable populations, he noted.
“In a world without climate change, this still would have been a really extreme heat wave,” Hausfather said. “This is worse than the same event would have been 50 years ago, and notably so.”
The blistering heat exposed a region with infrastructure not designed for it, hinting at the greater costs of climate change to come. Blackouts were reported throughout the region as people trying to keep cool with fans and air conditioners strained the power grid.
“We are not meant for this,” Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said of the Pacific Northwest in an interview Monday on MSNBC. “This is the beginning of a permanent emergency ... we have to tackle the source of this problem, which is climate change.”
In Portland, light rail and street car service was suspended as power cables melted and electricity demand spiked.
Heat-related expansion caused road pavement to buckle or pop loose in many areas, including on Interstate 5 in Seattle. Workers in tanker trucks in Seattle were hosing down drawbridges with water at least twice a day to prevent the steel from expanding in the heat and interfering with their opening and closing mechanisms.
Democratic U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell said in a statement Monday that the heat illustrated an urgent need for the upcoming federal infrastructure package to promote clean energy, cut greenhouse gas emissions and protect people from extreme heat.
“Washington state was not built for triple digit temperatures,” she said.
In many cities in the region, officials opened cooling centers, including one in an Amazon meeting space in Seattle capable of holding 1,000 people. Officials also reminded residents where pools, splash pads and cooling centers were available and urged people to stay hydrated, check on their neighbors and avoid strenuous activities.
The closure of school buildings halted programs such as meal services for the needy, child care and summer enrichment activities. In eastern Washington state, the Richland and Kennewick school districts paused bus service for summer school because the vehicles aren’t air-conditioned, making it unsafe for students to travel in them.
Orchardists in central Washington tried to save their cherry crops from the heat, using canopies, deploying sprinklers and sending out workers in the night to pick.
Alaska Airlines said it was providing “cool down vans” for its workers at Seattle-Tacoma and Portland international airports, where temperatures on the ramp can be 20 degrees higher than elsewhere.
The heat wave stretched into the Canadian province of British Columbia, with the temperature in the village of Lytton reaching 115 F (46 C) Sunday afternoon, marking an all-time high recorded in Canada.
In Multnomah County, Oregon, which includes Portland, nearly 60 outreach teams have worked since Friday to reach homeless people with water, electrolytes and information on keeping cool, said county spokeswoman Julie Sullivan-Springhetti.
The county had 43 emergency department and urgent care clinic visits for heat illness from Friday to Sunday. Typically, there would be just one or two, Sullivan-Springhetti said.
Dr. Jennifer Vines, the Multnomah County health officer, said she believed there would be deaths from the heat wave, though how many remained to be seen.
“We are worried about elderly and we are certainly worried about people with frail health, but kids can also overheat easily,” Vines said. “Even adults who are fit and healthy — in temperatures like these — have ended up in the emergency department.”
The heat was heading east, where temperatures in Boise, Idaho, were expected to top 100 F (38 C) for at least seven days starting Monday.
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Cline is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. She reported from Portland, Oregon. AP video journalist Manuel Valdes contributed.