Wisconsin confirms eight heat-related deaths in two weeks

State health officials are confirming eight heat-related deaths in the last two weeks. Another 11 deaths are also thought to be linked to high temperatures.

Four of the eight people who died from excessive heat lived in southern Wisconsin. The other four came from Barron and La Crosse Counties. State Health Officer Dr. Henry Anderson says the youngest victim was 52, and the oldest, 91. The rest were over 70 years of age. Anderson says this is a group vulnerable to heat stroke. The repeated heat waves, which started in June, are presenting an additional challenge, “People aren’t acclimated yet, so they don’t really get used to the heat so much. When we have fatalities, they tend to be when the heat waves occur earlier in the year. This is a great public success given the heat wave, the severity of it compared to 1995.”

Wisconsin experienced a July heat wave in 1995 that resulted in 71 deaths directly linked to weather conditions; another 70 were indirect.