Good morning! It’s Cassandra Garibay here.
Things are heating up in Fresno, literally.
The National Weather Service issued an excessive heat watch Friday morning through Saturday evening – with expected highs of 105 degrees and 104 degrees on Friday and Saturday, respectively.
How do you manage the heat?
Do you go to the river, or turn on the AC?
Are those options available to you? Does your apartment get uncomfortably hot? Do you worry about your or your children’s health when the temperature goes over 100 degrees? What services or resources would help you stay cool?
Heat-related illness is a serious problem in California and the risk is getting worse every year. Fresnoland is working with the USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism to investigate the effects of hot days on renters and unhoused people in Fresno. We are gathering stories from residents about their experiences.
We’re also looking at what city and county officials could do to better protect residents and mitigate the health impacts of heat on vulnerable communities.
Last year, Fresno County experienced a record-breaking 64 days above 100 degrees.
At the same time, the unhoused population of Fresno and Madera counties rose to roughly 4,000, while skyrocketing rent prices trapped renters in poor living conditions, at times with broken air conditioning units or none to begin with.
The city of Fresno was also named by Climate Central as one of the top 20 most extreme urban heat islands in the nation, which was largely attributed to a lack of green space and trees.
Not remaining cool during the Central Valley’s summer heat can severely impact your health and wellbeing. Exposure to extreme heat can cause dizziness, headaches, nausea, blistered skin, loss of consciousness – and even death. Heat stroke, which is when the body can no longer regulate temperature, according to the CDC, can lead to death or permanent disability, if not treated immediately.
Want to share how you deal with the heat?
Reach out to me at 559-202-3159 or cassandra@fresnoland.org to share your experience and your ideas for our reporting project.Â
This week from Fresnoland
New research shows that the Central Valley can stop sinking – if we act now
“If you don’t get these water levels to come back up, then the land is going to sink, potentially tens of centimeters per year, for decades,” said Lees.
Planning Commission deals Southwest Fresno a double blow, fracturing community coalition
The “commissioners are under-skilled, under-educated, and have mismanaged these applications from the start,” said Miguel Arias.
Fresno residents and City Council resolution call for delay, more engagement for Measure C renewal
“We know what it feels like to actually be included, and what it feels like to be undermined or tokenized,” said a Fresno-based organizer.
What else happened around Fresno this week?
- Latest results on city, county races in Fresno and Madera [Fresnoland]
- Fresno County’s zoo measure (Measure Z) passed, easily [Fresno Bee]
- Republican Connie Conway wins to replace Devin Nunes’ seat in Congress [Fresno Bee]
- The Clovis City Council voted to put a public safety tax on the November ballot [Fresno Bee], create a historic preservation commission and oppose key state bills on air quality, affordable housing [Fresnoland Documenters]
- The Fresno County Planning Commission approved the expansion of a biomethane gas cleanup facility and a new solid waste processing facility in Calwa. [Fresnoland Documenters]
- The Kerman City Council voted to put a hotel tax for general purposes on the November ballot [Fresnoland Documenters]
- Fresno State students launched a new podcast about local LGBTQ+ history [Valley Public Radio]