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Another Major Heat Wave Is Bringing Triple-Digit Temps To The Pacific Northwest

People rest at the Oregon Convention Center cooling station in Oregon, Portland on June 28, 2021, as a heatwave moves over much of the United States.
Kathryn Elsesser
/
AFP via Getty Images
People rest at the Oregon Convention Center cooling station in Oregon, Portland on June 28, 2021, as a heatwave moves over much of the United States.

Excessive heat warnings are up across the Pacific Northwest as communities brace for the second major heat wave of the summer in the region.

As OPB reports, triple-digit temperatures are unusual in cities like Portland, Ore., which has opened several emergency cooling centers.

But high-country towns like Pendleton, Ore., where it's expected to reach 105 degrees, are more prepared for extreme heat — because they've prepared for extreme cold:

Police Chief Charles Byram says their winter warming station has been turned into a summer cooling center.

And locals are building small dams in the Umatilla River to create pools for the community to cool off.

"There's one particular spot where there's a little falls, where a pool builds up a little bit," he adds. "We also have a waterpark and we're just completing a splash-pad area in a park as well."

The Forest Service is also warning that air quality is likely to deteriorate as wildfires continue to burn.


More resources for folks in the Pacific Northwest from OPB ⤵

  • Cities across Oregon see another day of triple-digit temperatures
  • Oregon fire officials are preparing for a weekend of hot weather and lightning
  • Cooling centers are open as the heat wave kicks in

  • This story originally ran on the Morning Edition live blog.

    Copyright 2021 Oregon Public Broadcasting

    Kristian Foden-Vencil is a veteran journalist/producer working for Oregon Public Broadcasting. He started as a cub reporter for newspapers in London, England in 1988. Then in 1991 he moved to Oregon and started freelancing. His work has appeared in publications as varied as The Oregonian, the BBC, the Salem Statesman Journal, Willamette Week, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, NPR and the Voice of America. Kristian has won awards from the Associated Press, Society of Professional Journalists and the Association of Capitol Reporters and Editors. He was embedded with the Oregon National Guard in Iraq in 2004 and now specializes in business, law, health and politics.
    Bradley W. Parks