Phoenix brings in morgues to prepare for influx in heat-related deaths

The city of Phoenix has brought in refrigerated containers as backup storage for bodies as the city continues to battle soaring temperatures reaching above 110F.

The Maricopa County Medical Examiner’s Office is preparing for the worst and with their morgues already over capacity brought in the overflow facility. 

If needed, the coolers will allow them storage space should their surge capacity of 358 people be breached. 

A spokesperson for the Medical Examiner’s Office told AZFamily that they are already over capacity, which is 224 bodies. 

It comes as the south west of the country continues to be hit hard with an intense heatwave that is pushing temperatures as high as 118 degrees. 

A person drinks a bottle of water while walking in “The Zone,” a vast homeless encampment where hundreds of people reside in Phoenix

 On Wednesday, Maricopa County said that seven more deaths were confirmed to be linked to the heat, bringing their total to 25 so far this year. 

Jason Berry, a Maricopa County spokesman, said: ‘While we typically see a surge in intakes to the Office of the Medical Examiner (OME) in July, this year has been worse than prior years.

‘Right now we’re between standard capacity and surge capacity, so we thought it would be prudent to bring in the refrigerated containers as a precaution.’

The last time the county brought in cooling trailers like this was during the summer of 2020 as a Covid wave swept the city. 

Other cities around the country, including New York City, also brought in the measures due to overcrowded morgues and funeral homes. 

Everyday this month the temperature in Arizona has soared past 110 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Surgeons at the Arizona Burn Center-Valleywise Health also warned about burns caused by walking, sitting or falling on outside surfaces reaching up to 180 degrees.

The burn center last year saw 85 people admitted with heat-related surface burns for the months of June through August. Seven died.

A billboard displays a temperature of 118 degrees Fahrenheit, 48 degrees Celsius in Arizona on July 18, 2023

A man known only as John pours water on himself to cool off from extreme heat in Phoenix, Arizona

As Phoenix continues to battle the heat, forecasters predict a dangerous heat will engulf much of the eastern half of the United States.

The National Weather Service said that extreme temperatures are expected to spread from the Midwest into the Northeast, where residents will see record temperatures for the year.

Nearly 200 million people in the US, or 60% of the population, are under a heat advisory or flood warning or watch.

Moisture moving into the Southwest has reduced the area of excessive heat warnings to the southernmost counties of California and parts of southern Arizona. 

On Thursday, heat and humidity in cities along the East Coast including New York City and Washington D.C. created a feel above 100 degrees. 

Forecasters expect several records to be broken today, with temperatures 10 to 15 degrees above average. 

Due to the extreme heat, some of the nation´s large power grids and utilities are under stress, which could affect Americans’ ability to cool off.

This map published by the National Weather Service shows the number of heat warnings currently in place across the country 

People cool off at a water park during a heatwave in Phoenix, Arizona, on July 16 2023

In New York City, utility Con Edison sent out a text blast asking residents to be frugal with air conditioning to conserve electricity. 

The country’s largest power grid, PJM Interconnection, declared a level one energy emergency alert for its 13-state grid on Wednesday, meaning the company had concerns about ability to provide enough electricity. 

Spokesperson Jeffrey Shields said: ‘PJM currently has enough generation to meet forecast demand, but operators continue to monitor the grid conditions for any changes.’

The Midcontinent Independent System Operator, which mostly covers states in the Midwest and Northern Plains, issued a similar notice on Thursday.

The California Independent System Operator also issued an energy emergency alert due to excess heat in Southern California. 

A cold front is expected to bring some relief on Sunday and into next week, with the heat  in the northeast to peak today.