This Valley heat shows no signs of letting up this week.
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This Valley heat shows no signs of letting up this week.
The streak of temperatures hitting 110 degrees or higher looks to continue with the Valley on the verge of breaking Phoenix’s 1974 record of 18 consecutive days of 110-plus, forecasters say. Glendale alone is bracing for highs of 112 Monday, 115 Tuesday, 114 Wednesday, and 115 on Thursday.
Yet life goes on, even for those who work outside.
Juan Tepetzi spent Friday at his usual spot, at the corner of 43rd and Peoria avenues in Glendale, with his Frutas Tepetzi cart under a colorful umbrella. Tepetzi owns and operates a roadside stand of fruit cups, where he chops up everything from fresh cantaloupe, pineapple, watermelon, mango, coconut and cucumber to put into a 32-ounce cup with plenty of ice.
Even with cold fresh goodies and endless ice to provide relief, it’s been a lonely sidewalk for Tepetzi lately.
“Right now it’s slow because of the heat. People don’t stop,” he said while slicing up mangos. “It is kind of hot but, it’s work.”
Maricopa County identified 425 heat-associated deaths occurring in 2022, which represented a 25% increase from the previous year. The county’s health department’s most recent numbers show 12 residents have died in 2023 from issues likely connected to heat so far this year.
Nearly 3,000 residents visit Arizona emergency rooms because of heat-related illnesses annually, the health department adds.
Buckeye police reported Sunday that a woman said her husband, a man in his 70s, had gone for a bike ride in the Sun City Festival area and had not arrived at the fire station where the two agreed to meet. The man’s bike apparently got a flat tire in a desert area west of the fire station and that he was attempting to walk to the fire station where she could pick him up.
Police and fire crews began searching for the man and located him in the desert deceased, and it appears to be a heat related death.
Danger isn’t limited to humans.
“During the summer months we often get calls for service regarding heat-related issues. Many of these calls are in regard to animals, children, or the unhoused population,” Glendale Police Department Public Information Officer Gina Winn said. “We would encourage the public to ensure your animals have proper shelter and water. We would further encourage the public to avoid walking their pets in the afternoon due to the heat of the pavement. If it is too hot for you to walk on, it is too hot for your pets.”
The unsheltered community especially can find itself exposed to the elements. Glendale has three heat relief stations at churches available throughout the city as part of a mobilized partnership of the Arizona Faith Network, the city of Glendale, Phoenix Rescue Mission, Circle the City, and the Maricopa Association of Governments.
The station at Larkspur Church, 10614 N. 43rd Ave., is a respite center that not only provides water and shelter but a place to lay down and sleep and to get food.
The Larkspur location has seen more than 800 people use the shelter since June.
It’s much more than a place to get shade and water.
“We make sure that everyone feels welcome,” said Azuin Russell, one of the employees contracted through the Arizona Faith Network to staff the location during its operating hours of noon through 8 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays; noon-6 p.m. Wednesdays; and noon- 9 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays.
Mats and blankets are available for guests and their pets to sleep comfortably. The center also has board games, cards and TVs, and plenty of support.
“I’ve grown to meet and learn about who they are,” said Russell, who this past Friday was there on her day off to make sure their needs were met.
Russell adds that help from the community comes in more ways than donating goods or services.
“It’s hard to tell people not to judge individuals when they’re out there, the way that they are,” she said.
Phoenix Rescue Mission provides case management when needed, and can transport individuals from parks or other outdoor areas to the centers.
The respite center at St. John’s Lutheran Church, 7205 N. 51st Ave., has been just as busy in recent days.
“Throughout the last few weeks we’ve been averaging maybe 30 people a day,” staff member Michael Blakeney noted. “I would say about 73% are returners once they come here.”
This location — which is open for respite from noon to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday – will host an event to also provide free showers and haircuts on site. That will run from 9 a.m. to noon Friday, July 21.
“Anybody’s welcome no matter who you are. Drink as much water as you like,” Blakeney said. “There’s a lot of people that need this.”
Arizona Public Service Co. reported that the public power service hasn’t broken energy consumption records — yet.
Customers typically use the most power between 4 and 7 p.m. An all-time record for the highest use of electricity at once — 7,660 megawatts — was set on July 30, 2020, during the 5 p.m. hour. 2020 was the hottest Arizona summer on record.
It’s much of the same at Salt River Project, which on Friday noted that it carries more than 1,200 megawatts of operating reserve capacity resources above the needed generation. Last summer SRP delivered an estimated retail peak demand of 7,620 megawatts on July 11, 2022. That peak topped SRP’s previous system peak of 7,615 MW, which occurred on July 12, 2020.
“SRP is prepared to meet increased electricity demand during this week and next week’s high temperatures and anticipates setting a new record for peak energy use,” said Lead Media Relations Strategist Erica Roelfs.
Forrest Anderson Plumbing & Air Conditioning, which has served the Valley for more than 50 years from its Glendale location at 17225 N. 63rd Ave., is keeping up as well.
Forrest Anderson’s call volume is up 35% this month compared to last month, the company reported. Most service requests are related to HVAC unit maintenance.
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We invite our readers to submit their civil comments on this extreme heat wave and its impact on their communities. Email AZOpinions@iniusa.org.
Steve Stockmar
News Editor | Sun Life Magazine & Arts & Entertainment
YourValley.net
@stevestockmar
Meet Steve
Steve Stockmar joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2017, and has been an Arizona journalist for almost 30 years. He serves as editor of Sun Life Magazine and contributes to West Valley communities where he focuses mostly on arts & culture, education, and profiles of neighbors making a difference.
Community: Every season Steve serves as a “buddy” with the Miracle League of Arizona in Scottsdale, has volunteered his time with Family Promise in Glendale, and previously served on the Ghostlight Theatre board in Sun City West.
Education: Graduated from Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff with a Journalism major and English minor.
Random Fact: Steve once won a 50-player live Texas Hold ’Em poker tournament.
Hobbies: Anguishing over his beloved Chicago Cubs and Bears; listening to Beatles and Grateful Dead music.
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