MARICOPA COUNTY, Ariz. — Over 200 deaths are currently under investigation by the Maricopa County Medical Examiner's Office as possibly heat-related as of July 6, county data shows.
As of July 6, Maricopa County has confirmed that 14 heat-related deaths have occurred in 2024. Nine of the 14 are heat-caused and five of the 14 are heat-contributed. There are 234 deaths under investigation.
"We know that June was hotter than June last year," Maricopa County Public Health's Assistant Medical Director Nick Staab said. "We know that the risk for heat-related death increases with those higher temperatures."
VERSIÓN EN ESPAÑOL: Investigan 234 muertes en el Condado Maricopa que posiblemente fueron relacionadas con el calor, según reportes
If a death is listed as "under investigation," that means the county medical examiner suspects it is a heat-related death. To learn more about the new heat death dashboard the county debuted this year, click here.
At this time last year, there were 12 confirmed heat-related deaths and 106 under investigation. 12News is keeping track of all heat-related deaths in Maricopa County throughout the summer. Click here to learn more.
The state data also maps each heat-related death by city and zip code. The zip code with the most heat-related deaths currently is 85210, located in Mesa.
"We've seen activity there before," Lindsey Balinkie with Mesa's Community Services department said. "It was on the map last year as well as some other areas."
As of July 17, there were only three confirmed heat-related deaths in 85210, though Balinkie said one is too many.
"We're talking about that data frequently," she said. "Our mayor and council are looking at it regularly to help make decisions."
One of those decisions is a loaner program for air conditioners, Balinkie said.
The DHS data shows the majority of heat-related deaths that occur indoors are because someone's air conditioning is shut off or broken.
Mesa now has a fleet of standalone air conditioners that are available to be loaned out to people without working A/C.
The DHS data also shows of the confirmed heat-related deaths so far in 2024, 13% of them had alcohol contributing to them, 52% had drug use, and 39% of those deaths were people experiencing homelessness.
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