Heat dome killed 15 in Kelowna; many had no air conditioning

A vast majority of those who died across British Columbia in last summer’s ‘heat dome’ did not have access to air conditioning or fans.

Many had chronic disease, while one-third lived in materially or socially deprived neighbourhoods.

That is contained within a report from the BC Coroners Service that reviewed the deadly 2021 heat wave. The report made three recommendations to prevent future heat-related deaths.

Topping the list, the creation of a co-ordinated provincial heat-alert system.

On Monday, the province announced plans to launch a two-stage heat response system. It will be ready for this summer’s potential heat waves. The B.C. Heat Alert and Response System will have two categories: heat warnings and extreme heat emergency alerts.

The government will broadcast extreme heat emergency alerts to mobile devices through the national Alert Ready system, which is already used to issue Amber Alerts and tsunami, wildfire, and flood warnings.

In the Okanagan, an alert will be issued when temperatures are expected to rise above 35 C during the day and 19 C at night, for two or more consecutive days.

“Extreme heat is a public heath issue, and given the growing impacts of climate change, we need to be prepared to expect more extreme heat in the years to come,” Health Minister Arian Dix said in a Tuesday press conference.

A/C Rebates

Supporting those most at risk of death from extreme heat and implementing heat prevention and risk mitigation strategies is also recommended in the report.

Within that, having rebates in place by summer 2023 for both passive and active cooling measures in homes is also recommended. This should be focused on low-income households and the least energy efficient homes.

Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth was non-committal when pressed on if a rebate program could realistically be in place in time.

“We’ve just received the report. We’ve already undertaken significant work in terms of the alerting system, in terms of dealing with long term care and ambulances,” he said. “We’ve got the recommendations and we will be working on them as expeditiously as possible.”

In the meantime, cooling centres are a key part of the response plan. Farnworth said the province will work with local governments to get people to and from them, keep them open for 24 hours a day, and to figure out where they should be located.

In the Okanagan, several cooling centres were set up last year, but closed within three days as Central Okanagan Emergency Operations said very few people took advantage of the facilities.

By the numbers

Of the 800 deaths reviewed between June 25 and July 1, 2021, 619 were found to be heat related. Fifteen people are confirmed to have died in Kelowna.

Across the province, 90 per cent of those who died were over the age of 60, and over half lived alone.

Ten per cent of the deaths were in social or supportive housing facilities, while 73 per cent took place in private homes. Another seven per cent of deaths took place in senior or long-term care homes.