US heat wave smothers Pacific Northwest, poses extreme risk in California and Arizona

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SEATTLE (AP) — Residents of the Western U.S. sweltered in a heat wave Saturday that hospitalized some people, with temperatures forecast to hit dangerous levels throughout the weekend in Washington, Oregon, Southern California, Nevada and Arizona.

About 1.2 million people were under extreme heat risk, meaning temperatures were expected to stay dangerously high with no relief overnight. The largest area under the warning was around Tucson, Arizona, where the National Weather Service forecast highs between 102 and 107 degrees Fahrenheit (39 and 42 degrees Celsius). Areas of inland Southern California also faced extreme risk.

Another 18.6 million were under major heat risk nationwide, affecting workers and anyone without regular cooling and hydration, including in Miami.

Portland, Oregon, reported a record high for Aug. 22, according to preliminary data: 102 degrees (38.9 Celsius). If upheld it would break the 98-degree (36.7-degree Celsius) high for the date, set in 1942, according to the NWS.

Struggling through the smothering heat were long-distance runners in a Portland's annual Hood to Coast relay race, which goes from inland Mt. Hood to the Pacific Ocean. At least one runner competing as part of a group of athletes over 50 lost consciousness after running 4 miles (6.4 kilometers).

David Loftus said he does not remember collapsing but his companions told him it happened shortly after he passed the baton. “Some other stranger saw me wobbling and caught me before I hit the ground,” Loftus said.

When he regained consciousness, he saw an ambulance there to pick him up. Loftus, a writer and amateur actor from Portland, said Saturday that he hydrated and doused himself with water before his leg of the race but it wasn't enough. He was held for observation overnight at a hospital but recovered.

Around the time Loftus took the baton, a notice of extreme heat emergency was posted for Portland and the surrounding county. Emergency visits and 911 calls were up.

“Typically, we see a single visit or no visits. Yesterday, we had 16 visits, six of them from Hood to Coast participants,” Brendon Haggerty of the Multnomah County Health Department said via email. “The Portland metro area is facing the highest heat risk of 2025.”

In June 2021 the city recorded a high of 116 (46 Celsius) during a heat wave that resulted in more than 100 deaths. Most of the victims lived alone, and the vast majority were 60 or older, but the youngest was 37, officials said at the time.

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The quote from David Loftus has been corrected to show that someone caught him before he “hit the ground,” not “left the ground.”