Maricopa records second heat death of summer

As Phoenix preps refrigerated morgues for an influx of heat-related deaths, Maricopa suffered its second such death of the summer.

Two Maricopa residents died from heat complications in what’s shaping up to be the hottest summer on record, according to the Pinal County Medical Examiner’s Office.

A 79-year-old man from Maricopa died at about 6:50 p.m. July 21 from heart disease “exacerbated by environmental heat exposure,” the medical examiner reported. The death was deemed accidental.

The first recorded heat death this summer took place June 21 when a 57-year-old man died of heart disease with physical exertion and heat exposure listed as contributing factors.

As of July 22, heat deaths in Pinal County had nearly tripled from four to 11, InMaricopa reported earlier this week.

The seven recent additions took place in just eight days from July 14 to 22.

Temperatures that week ranged between 109 and 119 degrees. That’s much higher than the average of 101 to 107 degrees, according to Weather Underground.

Record heat wave

This recent death occurred in the middle of central Arizona’s longest-lasting excessive heat warning ever, with daily afternoon temperatures ranging between 112 and 117 degrees.

“Even though the month is not over, this will be the hottest month on record,” National Weather Service Meteorologist Chris Kuhlman said Monday. At the time, the region entered its third week of continuous excessive heat warnings.

The county medical examiner has yet to confirm if heat was a factor in the mysterious death of a 47-year-old Maricopa woman in a roadside drainage ditch earlier this week.