Families of people killed in record heat in the Portland, Oregon, area three years ago gathered over the weekend to plant trees across Multnomah County in memory of the 72 victims.
The event, organized by county and local officials and nonprofit groups, drew thousands of volunteers to a nature park outside Gresham where a ceremonial hornbeam tree was planted. Families buried paper hearts with the names of those who died in the ground where hornbeams were among the 72 trees planted Saturday.
“I didn’t think so many people were still concerned about what happened to their families during the heat wave,” said Lalorme Orison, whose 68-year-old father Jerome Orison died in the June 2021 heatwave. he told The Oregonian. “I’m grateful to know that the county cares.”
Idaho couple identified as victims of Oregon plane crash
Three days in a row of extreme temperatures broke records in the Pacific Northwest, which typically experiences mild summers. Temperatures in Portland reached triple digits for three days, and records were set in Oregon, Washington and British Columbia, with highs reaching 116 degrees Fahrenheit.
On the third day of the heat, Jerome Orrison’s daughter Nasheril said she thought something was wrong when her father didn’t answer the phone. She said she went to his apartment in Southeast Portland and found him dead on the couch, with only a small desk fan to keep him warm. said.
Oregon blamed the heat for 116 deaths across the state, Washington state reported at least 91 and British Columbia officials blamed hundreds of “sudden and unexpected deaths” on temperature. He said the increase was likely the cause.
On March 16, 2024, dozens of people gathered at Nadaka National Park in Gresham, Oregon, for a tree-planting event in memory of those who died in the 2021 heat wave. (Mark Graves/The Oregonian, via AP)
Officials say more people died from heat in the greater Portland area in June than in the entire state in the past 20 years. Three of the victims honored with tree planting died later that summer.
Scientists said the deadly heat would have been virtually impossible without human-induced climate change, which added several degrees to record-breaking temperatures.
The fatal accident led to heightened preparedness for extreme conditions across the state in the years that followed.
Multnomah County Chairwoman Jessica Vega Pederson said the Portland area of Gresham and East Portland has the fewest trees in the county, but more trees are being planted.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“They will help us cool down during the hot summer months and will also help save future lives that may be taken in similar events,” she said.
The Orrison family went to his father’s apartment every year to release balloons in Jerome’s honor. Now they have a new place to pay their respects.
“This is more personal,” Larome Orison said of the natural park. “It’s a beautiful place.”
