Oregon’s state medical examiner’s office on Wednesday attributed at least 63 deaths in five days to the punishing heat in the state, including 45 in Multnomah County, which includes Portland, where temperatures reached a record 46 degrees Celsius.
In Washington, officials reported nearly a dozen lives lost to hyperthermia on Wednesday alone in King County, which includes Seattle; two heat-related deaths were reported there the day before.
In Snohomish County, Washington, at least three people died this week from heatstroke, according to the medical examiner’s office, which added that investigations are pending into at least two more suspected heat-related deaths.
“This was a true health crisis that has underscored how deadly an extreme heat wave can be, especially to otherwise vulnerable people,” Jennifer Vines, the Multnomah County health officer, said in a statement on Thursday.
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