Arizona Gov. Hobbs issues emergency declaration, makes funds available for heat relief, cooling centers
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Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs on Friday issued an emergency declaration after this summer's record-breaking heat wave, a move that frees up funding for three counties' response.
The governor also took several actions, including issuing a new executive order, that will make more funds and cooling centers available as well as help prepare the state for future periods of high heat.
“Arizonans deserve action," Hobbs said in a statement. "I’ll use every resource at my disposal to help keep Arizonans safe as we recover from this unprecedented heat wave and prepare for future events to ensure our state has the tools to continue thriving and growing.”
Hobbs declared an emergency in Maricopa, Pinal and Coconino counties, areas where there were 30 or more consecutive days with excessive heat warnings, according to her emergency declaration.
Across the three counties, 33 heat-related deaths were reported during the period of excessive heat and more are under investigation, the declaration says.
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The declaration makes $200,000 in taxpayer dollars available to those three counties through the state Department of Emergency Management to reimburse them for heat responses between June 30 and July 30, the declaration says.
Coconino County Board of Supervisors Chair Patrice Horstman said northern Arizona, where desert residents typically go to cool down, experienced heat-related illness and deaths.
“However, even in Northern Arizona, this summer heat is lethal," Horstman said in a statement released by the Governor's Office. "Temperatures at the base of the Grand Canyon, a popular tourist destination, soared above 115 degrees, contributing to multiple heat-related hiker deaths and injuries in July."
The governor's executive order cites the increasing number of people who fall ill or die because of heat each year. The order directs the Governor's Office of Resiliency to work across agencies to determine best practices for dealing with heat going forward and create a Extreme Heat Preparedness Plan by March 2024 and administer $13.3 million in Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Acts funds to prevent power outages across the state.
The order directs the Department of Health Services to study ways to centralize or coordinate heat relief and cooling centers, and creates two new cooling centers that will be on the grounds of the Arizona Capitol about 2 miles west of downtown Phoenix.
The governor has been under pressure, including from critics in her own party, including former Corporation Commission member Sandra Kennedy, to do more to respond to the unusual stretch of hot days in the state.
The Phoenix area broke countless high-heat records, including setting the all-time record warm low — basically the hottest overnight low temperature to date — in July.
Hobbs' earlier steps in response to the heat wave included ordering workplace safety inspections for workers in high-risk fields such as construction, manufacturing and other outdoor work.
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Reach reporter Stacey Barchenger at stacey.barchenger@arizonarepublic.com or 480-416-5669.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Gov. Hobbs declares heat emergency in 3 Arizona counties
