Northwest heat wave spurs help for vulnerable residents

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Oregon volunteers scrambled to hand out water, portable fans, popsicles and information about cooling shelters to homeless people living in isolated encampments on the outskirts of Portland as the Pacific Northwest sweated through another heat wave.

In an area more used to temperate weather, authorities are trying to provide relief to the vulnerable, including low-income older people and those living outdoors. They are mindful of a record-shattering heat wave in late June that killed hundreds in Oregon, Washington and British Columbia when the thermometer went as high as 116 degrees Fahrenheit (47 Celsius).

In Portland, temperatures reached 102 F (39 C) by late afternoon Thursday, and more heat was expected Friday. It was hotter than Phoenix, where the desert city hit a below-normal 100 F (38 C). In Seattle, highs were in the 90s in a region where many don't have air conditioning. In Bellingham, Washington, on Thursday the high hit 100 F (38 C) for the first time on record.

In Portland, a nonprofit group that serves the homeless and those with mental illness used three large vans to transport water and other cooling items to homeless encampments along the Columbia River on the eastern outskirts of the city.

The effort was important because people experiencing homelessness are often reluctant to go to cooling centers, said Kim James, director of homeless and housing support for Cascadia Behavioral Healthcare.

Scott Zalitis, who was shirtless in the heat, ate lime-green popsicles handed out by the group and told volunteers that the temperature at his campsite reached 105 F (41 C) the day before. A huge cooler full of food spoiled when all the ice melted and he couldn't find any more to buy.

“It’s miserable. I can’t handle the heat no matter what....