Portland is entering another heat wave with forecasts of 100 degrees Friday and continued high 90s into next week with little overnight relief. Multnomah County declared a state of emergency and will open two cooling centers in Gresham and downtown Portland, with shelters open noon to 9 pm Friday and Saturday and pets allowed. Three county libraries will extend hours until 8 pm Friday for heat relief. Medical officials suspect two heat-related deaths from last week's heat. Heat-related fatalities have increased in recent years; the county has expanded outreach to unhoused residents, launched an energy-efficient AC program, and sued Big Oil over the 2021 heat dome.
In response to the impending scorcher, Multnomah County has declared a state of emergency. The county will open two cooling centers Friday, at the East County Health Center (600 NE 8th St, Gresham) and Stephen's Shelter in downtown Portland (1432 SW 13th Ave). The shelters will be open from noon until 9 pm Friday and Saturday, and pets are welcome.
Multnomah County medical officials say they believe two people-a man and a woman-died in connection with last week's heat wave, which saw temperatures in the high 90s for three days in a row. Both of the people suspected to have died of heat-related causes were in their late 50s, but no other information has been provided. Heat-related deaths in Multnomah County have risen sharply along with climate change, as the crisis has caused summer extremes to be much hotter for longer periods of time.
Collection
[
|
...
]