Health · Phoenix heat kills 113Phoenix Heat Kills 113, 584 Cases Pending as Rescue Choppers GroundedAired August 27, 2026 at 9:08 PM UTCWritten September 7, 2026 at 9:22 PM UTCRead the write-upThis storyTranscript · LOADING0:00More than 100 people are already confirmed dead from heat in one Arizona county.0:04The pending caseload is more than five times larger, and the heat itself is keeping0:08rescue helicopters from taking off.0:11Phoenix is under an extreme heat warning, holding through at least Saturday night0:14with highs forecast at 112 degrees.0:17How high will the confirmed toll climb, and how long will the rescue system stay0:21limited by the heat that is driving the emergency?0:24County health surveillance had confirmed 113 heat-associated deaths as of August0:2822nd.0:29Another 584 suspected deaths were still under investigation.0:33Together, that is a caseload of 697, the rounded figures of more than 100 confirmed0:38and nearly 600 pending that anchored the August 27 report.0:41The confirmed number is the floor.0:43The pending investigations are the ceiling that has not been set yet, and the surge0:47in emergency calls is hitting while the warning that measures the hazard is still in0:51effect.0:52For scale, annual confirmed heat-associated deaths were 645 in 2023, the highest0:57from 2014 to 2025.1:00then 608 in 2024 and 430 in 2025.1:04That was a two-year decline linked to expanded surveillance and heat relief1:07investments since 2024.1:09With 113 already confirmed by late August and 584 still pending, 2026 is on1:15track to reverse that decline and potentially more than triple the 2025 pace.1:19Hot days are paired with hot nights that hold risk past sunset.1:22115 degrees broke a 15-year daily record on August 25th.1:26By August 27th, the forecast reached 112 to 113 with an observed 117 at Sky1:32Harbor and the extreme heat warning that drives cooling center hours, work1:36schedules, and emergency staffing stays up through at least Saturday night.1:39That lag is why the summer toll will be adjudicated through the fall.1:43Most of this summer's fatalities are still uncounted in the confirmed total, even as1:47temperatures remain dangerously high.1:48Phoenix fire and emergency medical response has increased sharply for heat illness,1:53transport, and hospital coordination during the warning.1:56No precise call volume or call type breakdown was provided.2:00Only that demand has surged while the system is managing sustained triple-digit2:03heat.2:04Extreme heat has made it too hot for sheriff's rescue helicopters to take off,2:08limiting mountain and trail rescues when they are most needed.2:11The only specific temperature limit found is 116 degrees for the Phoenix Fire2:15Department helicopter, reported by local news, and that report was inaccessible on2:19direct retrieval.2:20The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office Aviation Operations Policy EJ2 was reviewed in2:25full and lists no heat threshold.2:27No official sheriff press release or incident report documenting a specific2:31grounding on August 27th was located.2:34The maintenance-driven grounding of the police hoist ship is not heat-driven, but it2:38narrows the margin at the same time.2:40Partners have covered hoist capability, a rescue on Mummy Mountain went ahead August2:4426th, and fire crews have limited attempts to two per day to manage exposure for2:48patients and responders.2:50Risk is concentrated and preventable.2:52In recent years, about six in 10 decedents were 50 and older, and about2:56three-quarters were male.2:57About half of heat deaths involved substance use with stimulants including3:01methamphetamine in nearly 9 of 10 of those cases in 2024, and nearly half involved3:06people experiencing homelessness.3:08That is why a 112-degree forecast translates into indoor and outdoor risk for3:12outdoor workers, warehouse crews, people without air conditioning, and older adults3:17living alone.3:18The bottleneck lands on both prevention and rescue.3:21About 66 cooling centers were operating with hours extended into October, with 2113:26hotline activation and guidance to hydrate, avoid peak outdoor activity, and check3:31on vulnerable neighbors.3:32More cooler capacity has been deployed in prior waves when caseloads spiked.3:36With aerial hoist rescues limited by heat and by the separate maintenance outage,3:41trail rescues face longer ground carries and greater exposure, and emergency3:45departments absorb the surge that cooling centers cannot divert.3:48Until the 584 pending cases are adjudicated and the warning lifts, more than 1003:53confirmed is a floor, not a ceiling, and exactly how many pending deaths will be3:57confirmed, how fast and when reliable helicopter coverage returns remain unresolved.Explore with HeyDexThe shortThe short ↗