Phoenix heat relief efforts are saving lives, but the office can't keep up during record temps

By Mark Brodie
Published: Wednesday, August 23, 2023 - 11:24am

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David Hondula
Amber Victoria Singer/KJZZ
David Hondula

Maricopa County officials say they’ve confirmed 89 heat-related deaths so far this year and nearly 350 more are under investigation.

Both numbers are already higher than the totals from last year. Statewide, more than 3,100 people have visited emergency rooms because of heat-related illnesses so far this year.

Perhaps not surprisingly, the majority of all of those numbers have come during the record-setting month of July. But, we still have a ways to go before we’re done with triple-digit high temperatures.

David Hondula, director of Phoenix's Office of Heat Response and Mitigation, joined The Show to talk more about it.

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