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Extreme heat likely claimed its third victim of the year in Multhomah County.
The medical examiner’s office said a man, 56, was found Saturday in the 97209 ZIP code, which includes Old Town, the Pearl District and Nob Hill.
Temperatures soared to 98 degrees at Portland International Airport on Saturday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service, after hitting a record 102 on Friday, Aug. 22. The previous record for that date was 98 degrees, set in 1942.
County officials say 911 received at least 44 calls related to the heat on Friday, and another 13 on Saturday. The number dipped to eight calls on Sunday. Meanwhile, a combined 321 people took refuge in county cooling centers over the three-day heat event.
The county closed those cooling centers Monday, because the heat no longer meets its emergency thresholds.
The death, which is being investigated as heat related, is the third of the year that is suspected to stem from high temperatures. The first victim, a 59-year-old man, died in the 97233 ZIP code, which includes Rockwood and Mill Park, on or before Aug. 14, according to the county medical examiner. The second, a 57-year-old woman, was found dead a day later in 97214, home to the Inner Eastside industrial area and the Hawthorne District.
Once very rare in the Northwest, deaths from heat stroke and related illnesses have been rising along with summer temperatures. The June through August period of 2024 was the hottest on record in North America, according to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The heat has brought ozone warnings. The National Weather Service, issued one starting at 10 am Saturday that remains in effect until 10 pm tonight.
The deadliest month on record for heat fatalities was June 2021, when a freak, three-day heat dome settled over the metro area, driving temperatures to an all-time high of 116 degrees on June 28. Sixty-nine people died during that event, according to Multnomah County, and a total of 72 died that summer.
