Maricopa County had confirmed 230 heat-related deaths in 2026 as of the report, a 60% increase over the same point last year, with another 567 deaths still under investigation. County Chief Medical Examiner Jeff Johnston said the 2023 record of 645 will likely stand but 2026 could be the second- or third-highest year. Preliminary data showed 34% of this year's heat deaths occurred indoors, up from about 24% over the prior three years; early county data showed people experiencing homelessness may account for a smaller share of this year's heat deaths than in previous years, and the Phoenix City Council approved more than $5 million for heat relief this year.
Heat deaths in Maricopa County fell 30% in 2025 from the prior year.
Clark County coroner's records showed heat contributed to at least 260 deaths in 2026, 74 of them people listed as homeless, as Las Vegas closed its second-warmest summer on record. Clark County said it conducts roughly 1,200 encampment cleanups a year using Public Works, Social Services, Code Enforcement and outreach partners. An outreach volunteer described a woman whose heart medication was discarded during a cleanup.
The 260 and 74 figures are countywide coroner counts for Clark County, not city of Las Vegas totals.
UMOM New Day Centers received more than twice as many families seeking heat respite this summer as last summer, and Phoenix City Council on Wednesday increased the nonprofit's heat-season contract from a planned $300,000 to $772,904.80. The funding covers heat respite centers operating seven days a week for families with minor children experiencing homelessness. Four speakers addressed the council in support of the increase before the vote.
During an extreme heat warning with inland temperatures forecast in the triple digits, homeless residents of East Village used the San Diego Central Library and the trolley system as cooling spaces; people without secure storage for belongings or with multiple pets said they could not go inside. Father Joe's Villages said its street team was distributing hats, water and heat-illness education in East Village. The San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office reported 17 heat-exposure deaths countywide in 2024, almost double the prior year, and the article said it is unclear how many of those people were homeless.
The Neil Good Day Center, a daytime shelter, is scheduled to shutter this fall.
Street Roots reported that Portland's Impact Reduction Program had conducted 5,491 sweeps between the citywide camping ban's November 1 effective date and August 1, more than 1,248 of them since June, and that coordinated camp removals are suspended during excessive heat warnings while police can still ticket for camping-ban violations. County data cited in the story showed total homelessness in Multnomah County rose from 17,155 people in November to 18,248 by May, and that 75% of people exiting shelters as of May remained homeless.
Portland Police Bureau data cited in the story showed 492 of 1,134 people offered shelter as of June accepted it.
The Good Works Coalition, a group of homeless people, advocates and service providers, wrote an open letter to Mayor Cherelle Parker's administration calling for a 24/7 "heat respite-and-navigation" site during summer, better communication about cooling centers, and shelter protections comparable to winter Code Blue. The city has recorded eight heat-related deaths so far this year, according to the Department of Public Health, which does not track the housing status of those who died; city officials said heat poses different threats than cold and kept additional winter shelter beds open year-round this summer.
The additional shelter beds are funded only through the end of the fiscal year, and most city cooling centers close by 9 p.m., with one 24-hour location in Kensington.
Portland Mercury · on Multnomah County heat deaths and cooling-center capacity
The Mercury reported that 14 people have died of heat-related illness in Multnomah County in the five summers since the 2021 heat dome, which killed 72 people statewide that summer, 69 of them in the county. The county reported 611 visits to three cooling centers during a July 2024 heat wave and 532 visits to four sites across two August 2025 heat waves. Public health officials said most fatalities involved people without functional air conditioning, and that men over 50 living alone were overrepresented among the deaths.
Senate Bill 54, which would have required landlords of multifamily properties with 10 or more units to provide air conditioning in all units by 2036, died in committee.