Starting Thursday afternoon, Independence Day festivities will be under the pall of an Excessive Heat Watch, which extends through Sunday evening.
In the watch, issued Monday afternoon by the Portland branch of the National Weather Service, the federal weather agency said that temperatures as high as 102 degrees were possible in northwest and west central Oregon and southwest Washington.
The current forecast shows the hottest weather hitting Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
“Heat related illnesses increase significantly during extreme heat events,” the NWS said, urging residents to drink plenty of fluids, stay indoors in air conditioned rooms, stay out of the sun, and check up on relatives and neighbors.
The agency also noted that leaving children or pets in a car could kill them in a matter of minutes.
Resources to stay cool
Dial 211 or visit 211info.org for resources.
Washington County maintains a hot weather webpage, which includes tips on staying cool, maps showing cooling centers in Washington County—the nearest being in Banks, Forest Grove, or North Plains for most readers—and free resources to be transported to a cooling center.
Chas Hundley is the editor of the Gales Creek Journal and sister news publications the Banks Post and the Salmonberry Magazine. He grew up in Gales Creek and has a cat.
