Heat can be a disaster if we’re not prepared
We’ve learned the terrible lesson that heat waves can’t be ignored.
Every weather service we can find is predicting temperatures of 105, 106 or even 108 this week. Friday, or maybe Saturday will be the hottest. Today will be really hot, too.
After the horrible heat wave of 2006, even well-seasoned Valley natives know to take special care. Ten years ago in mid-July, temperatures topped 100 degrees each day for 10 in a row; they never dipped below 80 at night. In those 10 awful days, 24 perished in Stanislaus County, 6 in Merced, 17 in San Joaquin and 26 in Fresno.
It hit those over age 80 hardest; but those ages 50 to 59 were the second-hardest hit.
They didn’t die because they were too dumb to stop working; not a single death was attributed to strenuous activity, wrote the California Department of Heath. The greatest predictor of death was living alone. Of 140 deaths in California due to the heat, 64 lived alone. More than 60 of those who died didn’t have air conditioning; another 50 had it but didn’t turn it on. The average indoor temperature of a dwelling where a death occurred was 103.5 degrees.
We have these figures because the horrific death toll prompted state agencies and county emergency offices to do everything possible to understand the crisis. They vowed to be better prepared for the next heat wave; now most are.
We know, for instance, that many of those who died had been in contact with family, neighbors or social workers before succumbing. That tells us it’s not enough just to check in. In some cases, you might have to take action – insist the person leave a hot house for a cooling center. If they won’t, call the county hotline for help (209 385-7379). Even an hour of cooling can make the difference.
We’ll repeat what we said last year when it began to heat up (in late June): No one should resist turning on the air conditioning in a heat wave out of fear they can’t pay the resulting bill. All utilities, including PG&E, should establish a low-income forgiveness program when temperatures spike – not simply a program to smooth out the payments.
That said, no one expects this heat wave to be as bad as the one in 2006. Not even close. And now we’re better prepared.
Every Valley county now offers “cooling centers,” from shopping malls to civic centers to hospitals. There are at least 20 in Merced County, including all 16 county library branches, the city-county building in Dos Palos and the Livingston city council chambers. The complete list is available as a link off the county’s web page. If you can’t get there, call Dial-a-Ride for a pick up at 209 384-3111.
We’re not forgetting the animals. Hundreds of thousands died in 2006, overwhelming rendering facilities. Since then, most farmers have installed misting devices, capable of handling the kind of heat we expect over the next few days.
What no living thing can endure is being locked inside a car on a hot day. It is utterly essential that parents never, ever leave a child locked inside a car; it can become a death sentence. The same goes for pets. If AB 797 passes, and we hope it does, good Samaritans would be allowed to break a window to free a trapped animal (after calling authorities). We hope it passes.
Heat waves are as dangerous as flooding, tornadoes or hurricanes. And they sneakier. You can see the rain falling; you can’t see heat rising. But if we take a few precautions, and take care of each other, we’ll weather this wave.
This story was originally published May 31, 2016 at 4:28 PM with the headline "Heat can be a disaster if we’re not prepared."