LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — Reno and Las Vegas are the two fastest-warming cities in the entire country.

Tonight we take a look at what neighboring Arizona is doing to address similar heat challenges, and whether those steps can work in Nevada.

Las Vegas has several areas called urban heat islands, which are hotter than the surrounding areas because of less vegetation, such as trees, and more concrete development.

Residents in East Las Vegas, one of the areas considered an urban heat island, say they’re not surprised that temperatures continue to rise, especially in their part of town.

“Definitely, when you go more to outskirts, there’s definitely more shade, more trees everywhere, but more in the center of town it’s very much less,” said Anthony Flores.

He believes there could be more relief from the heat.

“More water accessibility, more shade overall,” said Flores, whose line of work causes him to be outside every day. “I usually drink over two gallons of water a day just to keep not getting heat stroke.”

Charlie Ponce agrees with him.

“Definitely more trees that are useful, not like palm trees or anything like that. Parks that have like the water parks in them,” said Ponce. “Yeah, splash pads.”

Valley cities and Clark County have implemented steps like having cooling stations and tree-planting campaigns to help address heat challenges.

Phoenix and other parts of Arizona are also experiencing extreme heat every summer, as well as drought issues.

UNLV Public Policy Professor Dr. Ben Leffel says there are steps in the neighboring state that can be useful here in Nevada, where temperatures historically continue to be on the rise.

“For example, Phoenix has an ordinance that says that tenants must have rooms that are coolable to at least 86 degrees Fahrenheit,” said Dr. Leffel. “And that’s then also that first responders are equipped with chilled IV therapy and cold water immersion and things like that.”

News 3 spoke with heat mitigation and management experts in Arizona to see what they believe has been working for them.

One thing they mentioned was that Arizona has the first state-level chief heat officer.

“We have much better and much more accurate numbers now about who’s actually getting sick and who’s dying from heat-related deaths, and what the causes and kind of contributing factors are. So, if you don’t track something, you can’t understand what’s going on with it,” said Dr. Ladd Keith, Heat Resilience Initiative Director at the University of Arizona.

Ponce thinks it would help in Las Vegas.

“Like, let them know to tell the public like, hey, in these areas it’s getting out of hand, and this is what we can do as a community, or just have someone like regulated or watch over it,” she said.

And the city of Phoenix also has an entire heat office, something that can be beneficial on a local level, like being able to coordinate between different groups like homeless outreach, the hospitals, etcetera.

“Statewide coordination of cooling centers, lessons learned that are shared across different working groups, and so just a lot of cooperation that really creates a lot of efficiency too, and so I think that’s an important thing to note, is there is a cost to this, but the efforts are saving lives, and I think it’s making government more efficient,” said Keith.

Amy Scoville-Weaver, the Healthy Cities Program Director in Arizona for The Nature Conservancy, says the Phoenix Metro has done well with increasing vegetation, including in areas where there’s drought.

“So we’re looking at supporting and planting hardy trees, drought-tolerant trees, trees that are already designed, designed to live and thrive in water-scarce environments,” said Scoville-Weaver.

She says they also look at improving infrastructure to support it.

“So when it does rain, the water doesn’t just go down asphalt, get polluted, and go through a storm drain; rather, that water is being diverted to vegetation that needs it,” said Scoville-Weaver.

Leffel says another thing to keep in mind is heat safety can also come from indoor policies.

“For example, Phoenix has an ordinance that says that tenants must have rooms that are coolable to at least 86 degrees Fahrenheit,” he said.

A new Nevada law that went into effect last week requires larger jurisdictions to come up with heat mitigation plans.

A California bill would let insurers monitor customers’ driving data in exchange for discounted premiums.

Assemblymember Tina McKinnor, the author of AB 311, said the digital monitoring, known as telematics, rewards good driving and would improve safety. In real time, telematics technology would track data such as speed, location and how a vehicle is being driven.

“We have to slow people down,” McKinnor said. “That is the whole purpose for this bill, is driver safety.”

A voter-approved law from 1988, Prop 103, required insurance rates to be based mainly on driving record, miles driven and experience. It made California the only state in the country to prohibit telematics. 

McKinnor believes the law is outdated. She argued that her bill would also help good drivers who pay higher rates because of where they live. 

“Where I live definitely brings my insurance up,” McKinnor said. “If we both drive the same way, we’ll get charged the same way, instead of by our ZIP code.”

California’s Department of Insurance and consumer groups oppose the bill, citing privacy concerns. 

“We can’t look behind the algorithm and see what weight it’s giving to different criteria, which is a big problem,” said Jamie Court, president of Consumer Watchdog. “Auto insurance, otherwise, is transparent. This is why the Department of Insurance is opposed, because of the lack of transparency in the algorithm.”

The proposed savings in exchange for good driving might not be guaranteed. Telematics data from the Maryland Insurance Administration showed that 31% of drivers who opted into the program saw a drop in rates, 24% saw an increase and 45% saw no change to their premiums. 

“This collects an awful lot of data about people, more than they know, and it’s like having Big Brother in your back seat,” Court said. 

McKinnor insisted that drivers will not be forced to enroll in the program. 

“It’s still opt-in in the other 49 states,” she said. “We’re not going to make this mandatory. It’ll be a per-volunteer situation.”

McKinnor’s bill passed through the legislature’s insurance committee. It’s expected to be presented to the full Senate in August.

As health officials investigate a growing multistate Cyclospora outbreak, Colorado public health leaders say there is no evidence of an increased risk from produce sold in Colorado.

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) has recorded about 90 Cyclospora cases so far this year, according to State Epidemiologist Dr. Rachel Herlihy.

“We typically annually see about 167 cases of this infection in the state,” Herlihy said. “We do typically see more infections due to Cyclospora in the spring and summertime.”

Cyclospora is a parasite that causes an intestinal infection known as cyclosporiasis. Symptoms typically begin about a week after exposure and commonly include watery diarrhea, stomach cramps and nausea.

“It is not pleasant, that’s for sure,” Herlihy said. “But we don’t see high hospitalization rates associated with this particular infection.”

The parasite is most often spread through contaminated food or water. Produce such as leafy greens, herbs and berries has been linked to previous outbreaks.

“This particular parasite can be difficult to wash off of produce,” Herlihy said. “It can stay attached to greens or herbs or berries, even after you wash them.”

The warning comes as federal investigators work to identify the source of a growing outbreak affecting several Midwestern states. While the CDC’s public dashboard currently lists only 1 to 10 Colorado cases, Herlihy said those numbers are outdated because they only include reports through the middle of June.

“The outbreak that is occurring outside of Colorado really appears to have started to increase significantly in late June,” she said. “We certainly expect the CDC numbers to go up because the state health department numbers that are not yet reported on the CDC website are much higher.”

Reba Pousma, who lives in the Denver area, has been suffering from symptoms like the parasite for a week. A doctor she spoke with believes Cyclospora could be the cause of her illness, though her source of exposure has not been confirmed.

“It’s definitely different from regular food poisoning,” Pousma said. “I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy.”

She believes her symptoms started after eating a salad last week. She’s still battling stomach cramps, exhaustion and relentless trips to the bathroom.

“I’m on day five now of going to the bathroom over 40 times a day, and nothing has been solid,” she said.

She posted about her experience online, and the video has drawn thousands of comments, many from people who say they’re experiencing similar symptoms.

“There’s a lot of people commenting that they’re experiencing the same symptoms,” Pousma said. “I think some people are worried, and some people are like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is me too. Thankfully, somebody’s talking about it.’”

Unlike the Midwest outbreak, Herlihy said most Colorado cases reported so far this year have been linked to international travel, not food purchased or consumed in Colorado.

When someone tests positive, CDPHE investigators conduct detailed interviews about where they traveled, what they ate, restaurants they visited and grocery stores where they shopped to help identify possible sources of exposure.

Testing for Cyclospora requires a stool sample, typically using a PCR test that detects the parasite’s DNA.

Most people recover without treatment, but Herlihy said symptoms can linger for weeks and may come and go. Antibiotics can shorten the illness, particularly for people at higher risk, including young children, older adults and those with weakened immune systems.

For now, CDPHE says Coloradans don’t need to avoid fresh produce but should continue to follow safe food-handling practices by washing produce under cold water, washing their hands before and after handling food, scrubbing firm fruits and vegetables when possible, and refrigerating cut or cooked produce promptly.

“There is no reason to believe that there’s any increased risk of exposure to Cyclospora from eating produce in Colorado,” Herlihy said. “But it is always a good idea to thoroughly wash produce.”

For more information, visit the CDC website.