Recent heat wave claimed 16 lives: early data show

Sixteen people died from heat-related illness in British Columbia during the recent heat wave — including one in Island Health, according to preliminary figures released by the B.C. Coroners Service.

The total covers the period of July 26 to Aug. 3. The worst day for fatalities was July 29, with five deaths recorded.

By comparison, 619 people died in the heat dome in the summer of 2021.

Eight of the 2022 deaths occurred in the Fraser Health region and six in Interior Health. One each have been recorded in Vancouver Coastal and Island Health.

Six of those who died were in their 70s. Three were 80 or older, three were in their 60s, and two each were in their 40s or 50s.

Environment Canada issued heat warnings for most of the province starting July 25 and lasting through Aug. 1. Many areas saw temperatures 10 C higher than normal and daily records fell throughout the Interior, Lower Mainland and on Vancouver Island.

The heat wave was less severe than the record-breaking heat dome of late June 2021, when Lytton set a new Canadian record of 49.6 C.

This time, there was a greater emphasis on preventive messaging from provincial and municipal authorities.

A June report from the B.C. Coroners Service found provincial and municipal governments did not do enough to warn the public of the 2021 heat dome. It cited a lag between Environment Canada’s official heat alerts and the response of public agencies.

More than 800 deaths were investigated, and 619 were deemed to be heat-related. Ninety-eight per cent happened indoors. Most victims lacked access to cooler buildings or air conditioned spaces and many were older adults with chronic physical or mental health conditions.

The report did not include a timeline, but the first Environment Canada alert came June 23, 2021, with a warning of record-breaking heat and the elevated potential for heatrelated illnesses.

Neither the Ministry of Health nor the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General called a news conference or issued a warning, leaving it to regional districts and municipalities.

Records released in response to freedom of informationrequests show public health officials waited until the afternoon of June 25 to declare an extreme heat alert, and that it took almost three hours for the official public bulletin to make its way through the bureaucracy.

Premier John Horgan came under criticism for telling reporters on June 29 that the public bore a level of personal responsibility for the disaster and “fatalities are a part of life.”

Although the coroner’s report called the 2021 heat wave “unprecedented,” newspapers in 1925 reported on a similar heat dome up and down the West Coast. It contributed to wildfires, including one that burned most of the summer in the Capilano watershed.