Heat-related deaths, burns reported amid hottest June on record for Phoenix

PHOENIX (AZFamily) — June set a record as the hottest ever in Phoenix. Nearly half of the days last month had afternoons that reached 110 or above, with one day getting up to 117 degrees.

The Arizona Burn Center—Valleywise Health says triple-digit temperatures can heat sidewalks between 160 and 175 degrees.

So far this summer, they’ve treated 30 patients for heat-related burns. The recovery process can be agonizing and requires multiple surgeries, weeks or even months in the hospital and years of reconstructive surgery and therapy.

Last year, Arizona’s extreme heat led to a record number of burn injuries.

Between June and August, 136 patients were admitted with severe burns, up from 85 in 2022.

Doctors say it takes just 10 to 20 minutes on the hot pavement to get a third-degree burn.

Dr. Kevin Foster, director of Burn Services at the Arizona Burn Center—Valleywise Health, says he typically sees people who have survived a house fire.

“People tend to underestimate how hot it is and how quickly they can get dehydrated and get hot and suffer hyperthermia. Same with surfaces, people really underestimate how hot surfaces can be and how quickly they can get burned,” he said.

He said it’s important to remember even items sitting in the sun too long could reach near-boiling temperatures.

“Oftentimes we don’t realize will get hot, metal door handles are a perfect example. The metal part of a seat belt inside of a car can be 160 or 170 degrees,” Foster said.

One of the most difficult things for some of our most vulnerable populations is that our overnight lows were also warm last month, with six days of morning temps in the 90s.

When we think of burns from sidewalks or asphalt, perhaps many of us think of the homeless population.

But Valleywise tells us they have a number of elderly patients who may have fallen or passed out, along with some patients who just got exhausted from working outside in the heat.

Unfortunately, 14 people died from their burn injuries last year. Maricopa County is reporting 11 total heat deaths so far this year, which is up from this time last year.

There are currently 164 heat deaths under investigation.

Maricopa County Public Health has been tracking these types of deaths since 2006.

Over the years, they’ve created a dashboard with data tracking who is dying and why. It tracks the age and race, along with drug and alcohol use.

While they focus on whether people are considered homeless, over recent years, they’ve turned their attention to indoor heat deaths and whether the person had air conditioning or whether it was being used at the time of the death.

Nick Staab, the assistant medical director of the Maricopa County Department of Public Health, said the reports are used to track which populations need resources.

“We are really trying to quantify and tell the story of how severe the heat is and the impact on the community especially those who are especially vulnerable and high risk. We’re going to use that data with a wide variety of partners, to say that is really a true risk here at Maricopa County and we want to plan for it in the future so we can prevent as many of these deaths as possible,” said Staab.

The dashboard also reports data on heat-related illness based on local emergency department and inpatient hospital visits.

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