The state broke heat records on three consecutive days with a high of 118 in The Dalles and Pendleton on Tuesday. Monday hit 117 in Salem and 116 in Portland. East of the Cascades reached 108, though he record high temperature for the entire Northwest region is officially listed as 119 F in Pendleton, Oregon on the 10th of August, more than 125 years ago.

The extraordinary cool-down we experienced on the hottest day showed what really happened. We were cutoff for a few days from our natural air conditioner, the Pacific Ocean. When it switched back on, our temperature plummeted 50 degrees Fahrenheit in a matter of hours, demonstrating that the heat was due to the direction of the wind.

The Oregon State Medical Examiner’s Office has received reports of 63 deaths. Many of the deaths were senior who lived alone with no air conditioning or fans. Multnomah County death are reported to be between the ages of 44 to 97 and many are reported to have underlying health conditions. County Medical Examiner offices report an increase in calls and increase in investigative house calls. The Oregon Health Authority reported that heat-related visits to emergency rooms across Oregon also spiked during the heat wave.

While Governor Brown’s office expressed her profound regret and praised county employees and volunteers for distributing water and fans to vulnerable people, it could be the consequences from her emergency guidelines for shutdown. The pandemic has produced an isolation mentality for fear of getting infected with COVID-19. This is more evident in seniors living alone that lost outside contact due to the fear of the pandemic. That may be the real tragedy. Now that we are set free, we all need to take stock of our surroundings and reconnect with our neighbors.


--Donna Bleiler and Gordon Fulks

Post Date: 2021-07-01 09:48:46