The Pacific north-west braced for more sweltering temperatures on Tuesday as authorities in Oregon reported multiple heat-related deaths, with forecasters warning that the dangerous weather wasn’t over yet.
Officials in Multnomah county, which includes Portland, have said they are investigating four suspected deaths tied to the heatwave, which has cooked the region in triple-digit temperatures for days on end.
The county medical examiner was investigating at least three heat-related deaths reported on Friday and Sunday, officials said, involving county residents who were 64, 75 and 84 years old. Heat also was suspected in the death of a 33-year-old man, who was transported to a Portland hospital.
Dozens of locations in the west and Pacific north-west tied or broke previous heat records over the weekend and are expected to keep doing so into the week. Portland saw record daily temperatures on Friday, Saturday and Sunday and was on track to do so for a fourth consecutive day with a forecasted high of 102F (38.9C) on Monday, said National Weather Service (NWS) meteorologist Hannah Chandler-Cooley. Salem also set a new record, hitting 103F (39.4C) on Sunday and topping the 99F (37.2C) mark set in 1960.
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An NWS forecast predicted the “most dangerous portion of the heatwave” would last through Tuesday evening. “We are looking at the potential for breaking more records,” said Chandler-Cooley. Multnomah county has been operating several daytime cooling centers to provide relief for the people more vulnerable to heat-related illness.
The US north-west, better known for its rain and cooler climates, has been rocked by brutal heatwaves in recent years, including a 2021 heat event that was blamed for hundreds of deaths.
The temperatures aren’t expected to reach as high as they did during that 2021 heatwave, which killed an estimated 600 people across Oregon, Washington and western Canada.But the duration could be problematic because many homes in the region lack air conditioning. Round-the-clock hot weather keeps people from cooling off sufficiently at night, and the issue is compounded in urban areas where concrete and pavement store heat.
A person fills their water bottle in Portland, Oregon. Record daily high temperatures in Oregon were suspected in four deaths reported in the Portland area. Photograph: Jenny Kane/AP
Heat illness and injury are cumulative and can build over the course of a day or days, officials have warned. In San Jose, California, a man who was unhoused died last week from apparent heat-related causes, the city’s mayor, Matt Mahan, said on X/Twitter, calling it “an avoidable tragedy”.
In Death Valley national park, where temperatures reached 128F (53.3 C), a motorcyclist died from heat exposure over the weekend while another motorcyclist was hospitalized with “severe heat illness”, park officials said.
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Meanwhile, officials in Phoenix, Arizona, recently reported that heat deaths last month – the hottest June ever experienced in the city – have almost doubled compared with the same period last year.
The heatwave has sizzled states across the US west over the past week. While parts of California will begin to see some relief from the brutally hot conditions, the heatwave is forecast to shift north into Oregon and Washington and move east, covering parts of the Great Basin and Arizona, where more records will likely be broken.
“The multi-day length and record warm overnight temperatures will continue to cause heat stress in people without adequate cooling and hydration,” NWS meteorologists wrote in a forecast published on Monday.
The weather has also fueled the outbreak of new wildfires as hot, dry conditions meet flammable grasses that dried out after a wet winter. A wildfire in the mountains of Santa Barbara county grew to more than 26,000 acres by Tuesday morning, forcing evacuations of the area including at the former Neverland Ranch once owned by Michael Jackson.
Further north, the Shelly fire, which erupted in California’s Marble Mountain Wilderness, has grown to more than 6,000 acres and is 0% contained. And a small but smoky blaze, dubbed the Royal fire, has burned through more than 150 acres (60 hectares) of forest west of Lake Tahoe and sent ash raining down on the tourist town of Truckee, California.
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The US heatwave came as the global temperature in June was record warm for the 13th straight month and it marked the 12th straight month that the world was 1.5C (2.7F) warmer than pre-industrial times, the European climate service Copernicus said.
The University of Oregon’s Board of Trustees voted Tuesday to approve a $1.55 billion operating budget for the next fiscal year.
But they asked university leadership to return with an amended proposal by Dec. 15, when more details about future budget cuts will be known.
FILE — The Board of Trustees recently approved next year’s budget for the University of Oregon. The vote comes several weeks after the school’s president announced that he wants the university to reduce its annual budget as revenues and out-of-state enrollment decline.
Brian Bull / KLCC
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The vote comes several weeks after University of Oregon President Karl Scholz announced that he wants the school to reduce its annual budget by around $65 million.
At a trustees meeting Monday, Scholz said the estimated budget shortfall for next year is just around $23 million. But he said out-of-state enrollment is below historical norms for the second year in a row, and it’s unlikely to bounce back.
“One year can be an aberration. Two years is a pattern,” said Scholz. “And I believe we have to treat it as a new reality.”
Scholz said in May that discussions about the budget would happen over a six-month period. He said no final decisions about cuts would be made over this summer.
On Monday, UO Senate President Dyana Mason told trustees that the Senate had approved a new process to allow for community feedback in the cost-cutting process.
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Mason said the provost will work with the deans on budget proposals, finding “clear rationale” for why programs are considered for elimination.
The provost would then bring those proposals to the Senate Committee for Academic Modifications—which includes staff, faculty and students—for feedback.
Once the plans are nearly finalized, the Senate could then hold a period for public comment.
Mason told trustees that a six-month timeline is better than the three months that frustrated some staff last year, but she recommended taking however much time is necessary.
“The worst situation would be rushing forward to make decisions without appropriate evidence, data, feedback from the people that are most in the know about the impact on our students,” said Mason.
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UO’s Board of Trustees Chair Steve Holwerda said that every week that university delays the decisions could cost them millions of dollars.
Nathan Wilk is a reporter with the KLCC newsroom.This story comes to you from the Northwest News Network, a collaboration between public media organizations in Oregon and Washington.
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Oregon’s juvenile justice system has been reshaped in recent years by a sweeping reform law that changed how the state handles minors accused of serious crimes.
Senate Bill 1008, which took effect in 2020, ended automatic transfers of juveniles into adult court and eliminated life without parole sentences for juveniles. The law also created “second-look” hearings and established parole eligibility after 15 years for certain offenders who committed crimes before turning 18.
To help explain the law and its impact, KVAL’s Frannie Pedersen put together a timeline video tracing the history of Senate Bill 1008, from the passage of Measure 11 in 1994 to the reforms that later reshaped Oregon’s juvenile justice system.
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The video breaks down how the law changed, why lawmakers pushed for reform, and how SB 1008 continues to influence Oregon’s justice system today. Viewers can watch the full video for a detailed timeline and explanation of the changes.
PORTLAND, Ore. — A New Jersey man was sentenced to federal prison last Friday for conspiring to distribute fentanyl, announced U.S. Attorney Scott E. Bradford for the District of Oregon.
Mark T. Eager, 34, was sentenced to 135 months in federal prison and five years of supervised release.
“This defendant showed a blatant disregard for human life by trafficking fentanyl across the United States,” said U.S. Attorney Bradford. “My office will continue to pursue those who profit from poisoning our communities, and we will use every available resource and partnership to combat fentanyl trafficking and keep Oregonians safe.”
“This investigation brought together law enforcement agencies from across the nation,” said Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Seattle acting Special Agent in Charge April Miller. “Homeland Security Investigations special agents from Portland, Newark, and Houston contributed to the case, along with the Portland Police Bureau and HIDTA HIT officers, who were instrumental in identifying Eager. His 11-year sentence sends a clear message: no matter where you are in the country or the world, if you attempt to sell narcotics online to Americans, we will find you.”
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“Fentanyl trafficking poses a grave threat to communities across the United States, and Homeland Security Investigations is committed to working with our partners to disrupt and dismantle the criminal networks responsible,” said HSI Houston Special Agent in Charge Lucia Cabral-DeArmas. “This case demonstrates the power of interagency collaboration under the Homeland Security Task Force initiative, leveraging resources from across the country to hold traffickers accountable and protect the American people. We will continue to pursue those who endanger lives through the distribution of dangerous synthetic opioids, and we remain steadfast in our mission to safeguard our communities from the violence and instability caused by transnational criminal organizations.”
“By following this offender’s digital trail, Homeland Security Investigations and our law enforcement partners nationwide executed federal search warrants, dismantled an active dark web fentanyl packaging operation and recovered deadly amounts of fentanyl, thousands of dollars in cryptocurrency, and a trove of electronic devices and packaging materials,” said HSI Newark Acting Special Agent in Charge Spiros Karabinas. “This case is a powerful example of how coordinated, data-driven investigations can disrupt dangerous networks and help protect our communities from lethal synthetic opioids.”
According to court documents, from November 2023 through June 2024, Eager and his co-conspirator sold fentanyl on the Dark Net and Telegram. Eager operated as the vendor WRSEH10 and marketed the fentanyl as “China White Synthetic Heroin.”
In June 2024, HSI agents executed search warrants on two residences associated with Eager in Kearny, New Jersey, and seized over 360 grams of powdered fentanyl, counterfeit M30 pills, drug ledgers, cellular phones, two computers, and drug packaging consistent with three deliveries that were sent to Oregon.
On September 4, 2024, a federal grand jury in Portland returned a four-count indictment charging Eager with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and distribution of fentanyl.
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On February 4, 2026, Eager pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl.
HSI Portland and HSI Houston investigated this case with assistance from HSI Newark, the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) and the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Interdiction Task Force (HIT). Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Kerin prosecuted the case. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Jersey assisted the U.S. Attorney’s in Oregon in obtaining the search warrants that were executed in Kearny.
