Death toll in California heat wave up to 126
Death toll in California heat wave up to 126
Fri Jul 28, 2006 7:23 PM ET
By Jorene Barut-Phillips
CLOVIS, California (Reuters) - The death toll from this week's brutal heat wave in California has reached at least 126, state officials said on Friday, although record high temperatures were finally easing.
The state's Office of Emergency Services said it had confirmed 69 deaths from heat stress, with another 57 fatalities believed to be linked to the extreme weather. Of those 88 were men and 38 women.
Los Angeles County said it was investigating another six deaths believed to be heat related.
"This is the worst in recent memory," said Dr. Howard Backer, a medical consultant for emergency preparedness for the California Department of Health Services. "Temperatures are coming down, but there is a little bit of a lag from the time the temperatures come down until the health risks resolve."
Most of the dead were elderly, with the youngest 20 and the oldest 95 in Imperial County in the far south of the state.
Especially hard hit over the past week was the state's Central Valley, a major farming area. In Fresno, temperatures had exceeded 112 degrees F (44.5 C) for five days in a row, the longest such streak since 1898.
"While this type of triple-digit weather is common for the Central Valley, this is the first time we had 11 straight days and I think the humidity levels were different," said Henry Renteria, director of the Office of Emergency Services.
Normally this time of year Fresno is still hot, with the average high July temperature of 97 F (36 C).
POWER OUTAGES
Many people continued to suffer inconveniences after a week in which more than 2 million Californians went without electricity at some point amid record demand for power.
More than 2,000 customers in the town of Clovis outside Fresno experienced a power outage on Friday.
"It's easily attributed to the four to five days at 112 F (44.5 C)," said Darryl Mello, who was replacing a transformer for utility company PG&E under the hot sun. "The whole system in Fresno and Clovis is feeling the heat. Underground cables are experiencing too much amperage and no chance to cool off."
Without electricity, Denise and Peter Widmer of Clovis kept to their backyard pool to keep cool, even dumping their dog into the water. They listened to a solar-powered radio and said they planned to cook for guests later on an outdoor grill. "We're finding alternative ways to entertain," she said.
Local coroners who had struggled with many bodies earlier in the week saw a calmer situation by Friday.
"It had been pretty busy at the beginning of the week, up until Wednesday evening," said Ralph Ghimenti, who works in the coroner's office in Stanislaus County in Modesto. "We were almost at capacity ... Things have slowed down considerably."
A spokeswoman for the Stanislaus County Sheriff-Coroner said most victims had died of heat stroke. "Core body temperatures in excess of 108 degrees F, (42 C)" said Gina Leguria. "We had one guy come in at 111 (44) degrees."
State farm officials said many cows had died and tree fruit such as peaches, plums and nectarines were ruined.
Fri Jul 28, 2006 7:23 PM ET
By Jorene Barut-Phillips
CLOVIS, California (Reuters) - The death toll from this week's brutal heat wave in California has reached at least 126, state officials said on Friday, although record high temperatures were finally easing.
The state's Office of Emergency Services said it had confirmed 69 deaths from heat stress, with another 57 fatalities believed to be linked to the extreme weather. Of those 88 were men and 38 women.
Los Angeles County said it was investigating another six deaths believed to be heat related.
"This is the worst in recent memory," said Dr. Howard Backer, a medical consultant for emergency preparedness for the California Department of Health Services. "Temperatures are coming down, but there is a little bit of a lag from the time the temperatures come down until the health risks resolve."
Most of the dead were elderly, with the youngest 20 and the oldest 95 in Imperial County in the far south of the state.
Especially hard hit over the past week was the state's Central Valley, a major farming area. In Fresno, temperatures had exceeded 112 degrees F (44.5 C) for five days in a row, the longest such streak since 1898.
"While this type of triple-digit weather is common for the Central Valley, this is the first time we had 11 straight days and I think the humidity levels were different," said Henry Renteria, director of the Office of Emergency Services.
Normally this time of year Fresno is still hot, with the average high July temperature of 97 F (36 C).
POWER OUTAGES
Many people continued to suffer inconveniences after a week in which more than 2 million Californians went without electricity at some point amid record demand for power.
More than 2,000 customers in the town of Clovis outside Fresno experienced a power outage on Friday.
"It's easily attributed to the four to five days at 112 F (44.5 C)," said Darryl Mello, who was replacing a transformer for utility company PG&E under the hot sun. "The whole system in Fresno and Clovis is feeling the heat. Underground cables are experiencing too much amperage and no chance to cool off."
Without electricity, Denise and Peter Widmer of Clovis kept to their backyard pool to keep cool, even dumping their dog into the water. They listened to a solar-powered radio and said they planned to cook for guests later on an outdoor grill. "We're finding alternative ways to entertain," she said.
Local coroners who had struggled with many bodies earlier in the week saw a calmer situation by Friday.
"It had been pretty busy at the beginning of the week, up until Wednesday evening," said Ralph Ghimenti, who works in the coroner's office in Stanislaus County in Modesto. "We were almost at capacity ... Things have slowed down considerably."
A spokeswoman for the Stanislaus County Sheriff-Coroner said most victims had died of heat stroke. "Core body temperatures in excess of 108 degrees F, (42 C)" said Gina Leguria. "We had one guy come in at 111 (44) degrees."
State farm officials said many cows had died and tree fruit such as peaches, plums and nectarines were ruined.
posted by shummer60 at Friday, July 28, 2006
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