Northwest heat wave spurs help for vulnerable residents
“Oregon volunteers scrambled to hand out water, portable fans, popsicles and information about cooling shelters to homeless people living in isolated encampments on the outskirts of Portland as the Pacific Northwest sweated through another heat wave.
In an area more used to temperate weather, authorities are trying to provide relief to the vulnerable, including low-income older people and those living outdoors. They are mindful of a record-shattering heat wave in late June that killed hundreds in Oregon, Washington and British Columbia when the thermometer went as high as 116 degrees Fahrenheit (47 Celsius).”