Coroner: Bay Area Heat Wave Claimed 6 Lives
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF & AP) — The historic heat wave that sent temperatures soaring into triple digits throughout the Bay Area over the weekend claimed six lives, officials announced Thursday.
The San Francisco medical examiner's office said three people appear to have died from a record heat wave last weekend in the city while the San Mateo County coroner's office said three others died on the Peninsula.
The three San Francisco fatalities were elderly -- born in the 1920s or 1930s, lived alone and died at home. The city's emergency management department said there was no record they sought medical help.
In San Mateo County, a 90-year-old Pacifica man and a 79-year-old Daly City man died of heat stroke in their homes on Saturday. On Sunday, a 95-year-old Millbrae woman also died of heat stroke after being taken to a hospital in South San Francisco for treatment.
Temperatures in the famously foggy city hit 106 degrees on Sept. 1, the highest ever recorded in San Francisco. Some meteorologists ranked it among California's worst heat wave ever, given the margin by which heat records were broken and the extent of heat records across the state.
Several supervisors criticized the city for not doing enough when meteorologists predicted two days of blistering heat and have called for a hearing.
The National Weather Service reported that downtown San Francisco reached an all-time high of 106 degrees on Friday, as the dangerous heat wave shattered temperature records throughout the region.
San Francisco broke the previous record of 103 degrees set in 2000 at 2:43 p.m. Weather records for San Francisco date back to June of 1874.
Shortly before 4 p.m., the National Weather Service tweeted that the temperature in San Francisco had risen to 106 degrees.
Temperatures were also well into the 100s in most of the Bay Area Friday afternoon.
The record-setting heat wave continued on Saturday and Sunday before the region received relief from the dangerous temperatures.
