Multnomah County has reported six additional heat-related deaths associated with June’s record-breaking heat wave, several months after the weather event.
The county’s medical examiner initially identified 62 confirmed hyperthermia deaths from the June heat wave that meteorologists called a “heat dome.” As of this week, the confirmed deaths from that heat wave are 68.
The heat dome broke records in several Pacific Northwest cities, including Portland, where temperatures reached 116 degrees. Multnomah County had the most heat-related deaths out of all Oregon counties during the event.
There were also five other heat deaths that fell outside that June heat event — two occurred earlier in June and three occurred in August — bringing the county to a total of 73 heat deaths this year.