Temperatures in Portland, Oregon were hotter than Phoenix on Thursday as the Pacific Northwest continues to suffer a record-breaking heat wave, the Associated Press reported. Elsewhere in the region, where many do not have air conditioning, temperatures peaked in Seattle in the 1990s, while Bellingham hit 100F for the first time in recorded history. Portland hit 103 F in the late afternoon on Thursday, compared to 100 F in Phoenix. According to the AP, the city is expected to get more hot on Friday. Oregon volunteers distributed water, portable fans, popsicles, and refrigerated shelter information to people living in homeless camps around the Portland border. Kim James, director of homelessness and residential assistance at Cascadia Behavioral Healthcare, said the homeless are reluctant to go to cool shelters, making them more vulnerable to the dangers associated with the sweltering heat. For more coverage from the Associated Press, see below: Portland, Oregon hit 103 F Thursday afternoon as the Pacific Northwest suffers a sultry heat wave. Upstairs, the Chad Messenger collects refrigeration supplies in Portland on Thursday. Nathan Howard / AP Photo In Portland, a nonprofit serving the homeless and the mentally ill used three large vans to transport water and other refrigeration items to homeless camps along the Columbia River on the eastern outskirts of the city. Scott Zalitis, shirtless in the heat, ate lime green popsicles distributed by the group and told the volunteers that the temperature at his campsite had reached 105F the day before. A huge cooler full of food went bad when all the ice melted and there was nothing left to buy. “It’s miserable. I can’t stand the heat anyway. So, I mean, it’s hard to stand. It’s too hot even in the shade,” said Zalitis, who became homeless last year, when the apartment he was in sublet a room burned down in an electric fire. “You want to stay in a cool place, as cool as possible.” The warehouse, where rusted cars and broken RVs mingled with tents and piles of rubbish, contrasted sharply with downtown Portland, where sweaty pedestrians walked through a large one public fountain in a riverside park. Luna Abadia, 17, was training with her Lincoln High School cross-country team that morning when the group stopped by the fountain for a few minutes. Runners usually train at 4 p.m., but for the past few weeks they’ve had to postpone it to 8 a.m. – and it’s still sweltering, she said. “It was very hot, a lot of sweat. We’ve noticed that in the past. “Week or so,” Abadia said. Oregon Governor Kate Brown has declared a state of emergency and activated an emergency response center, citing the potential for power and transportation disruptions. and county governments have opened refrigeration centers, extended public library hours and reduced bus fares for those who drive to refrigeration centers. A nationwide 24-hour hotline directs callers to the nearest cold store and provides safety advice. Reflecting intense heat waves and a historic drought in the American West the climate change, which makes the weather more extreme. Abadia said the changes caused by climate change Climate change is all I’ve been delving into over the past few weeks I thought, “she said. “That heat wave and the forest fires we faced here a year ago – and even now around the world – were truly a new reminder of what is ahead and the immediate action that needs to be taken.” Vivek Shandas, professor of climate adaptation at Portland State University, measured a temperature of nearly 106 degrees in downtown Portland on Thursday. Nathan Howard / AP Photo
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