Four people have died since Friday of suspected heat-related causes as temperatures in the Portland area have soared to record-setting highs, officials said Monday.
All four were men, according to the Multnomah County medical examiner.
The first man was found in outer Northeast Portland and his death was reported to authorities on Friday. He was 87 years old.
Another man was transported from outside Multnomah County to a Portland hospital on Saturday, where he died from suspected heat-related illness. He was 33 years old and was not a Multnomah County resident.
Two men were found in outer Southeast Portland and their deaths were reported on Sunday. They were 64 and 75 years old.
The county did not release the circumstances of their deaths.
Dr. Richard Bruno, the county’s health officer, said he couldn’t draw any conclusions until autopsies were complete, but that the deaths were likely avoidable.
“These are probably preventable deaths,” Bruno said. “We assume they probably wouldn’t have (died) if they had better cooling options.”
Multnomah County and Portland declared a state of emergency on Friday as the region plunged into a days-long heat wave over the Fourth of July weekend.
The city recorded its first 100-degree day of the year on Sunday.
The streak of high, record-breaking temperatures is forecast to continue through Tuesday, when a peak of 105 degrees is expected, before dropping back down to the low 90s Wednesday.
Health officials urged people who had no access to air conditioning to seek shelter in cooling centers and local libraries.
In 2021, a heat dome killed some 100 Oregonians, including 69 in Multnomah County. Eight people died of overheating in 2022 in Multnomah County and three are suspected to have died last year due to heat. Most of those who died were white men who were housed and had no air conditioning.
Reporter Austin De Dios contributed to this story.
— Gosia Wozniacka covers environmental justice, climate change, the clean energy transition and other environmental issues. Reach her at gwozniacka@oregonian.com or 971-421-3154.