Over the weekend, with temperatures hovering around 110 degrees in Medford, the Jackson County Medical Examiner鈥檚 Office began investigating a case where an individual was found experiencing heat exhaustion on private property. The owners of the property did not know the individual, according to Ben Fazio, a medical investigator for the Jackson County Medical Examiner鈥檚 Office.
"It's under investigation. We have more to do but we are suspicious of a heat-related emergency that may have been the reason for this death," Fazio said.
The reason why the individual was on the property is unknown. Fazio said the county medical examiner is awaiting toxicology reports to determine whether substances played a role in the death.
鈥淭hese temperatures are brutal,鈥� he said. 鈥淥ne of our main concerns is people dehydrating out there and not having access to shelter.鈥�
No further information about the individual was made available.
Another suspected heat-related death was reported over the weekend in Coos County, according to the Oregon State Medical Examiner鈥檚 Office.
Additionally, five suspected heat-related deaths have been reported in Multnomah County since the beginning of the heat wave.
Many refer to extreme heat exposure as 鈥渉eat stroke,鈥� which shuts down some of the body鈥檚 functions and can be fatal.
Craig Kinney, the Deputy Medical Examiner for Douglas County, said some people are more susceptible to heat stroke than others.
鈥淲hat we tend to see, when the temperatures get high like this, is the people that succumb to those are people that are elderly or otherwise already ill from other conditions and don鈥檛 have people checking on them regularly,鈥� Kinney said.
Because of this, Kinney added that some reports of heat-related deaths may come in up to a week after a heat wave.
Triple digit temperatures are expected to continue throughout the week in southwest Oregon.
