23 Pierce County Residents Died Due To Heat: Medical Examiner

TACOMA, WA — At least 23 Pierce County residents died due to the record-breaking heat wave late last month, according to the latest update from the Pierce County Medical Examiner's Office.

Prior to the Medical Examiner's Office's update Tuesday, Pierce County's reported death toll had been 13. The jump from 13 to 23 deaths is significant, but not wholly unexpected: Last week the Washington State Department of Health warned that the death toll was likely to continue rising as doctors processed data on several "pending" casualties that had not yet officially been given a cause of death.

The state says it will likely be a month or more before the true death toll is known.

The Pierce County Medical Examiner's Office has released the names and ages of 20 of the deceased. They are:

• Jerry Elmer Jonas, age 78, of Puyallup
• Dennis J. Kieffer, age 76, of Tacoma
• Linda Pearl Marcomb, age 64, of Tacoma
• Michael Williams, age 71, of Puyallup
• Mariah Fern Christensen, age 67, of Sumner
• Emma Jean Grimm, age 72, of Tacoma
• Randall Dean Zimmerman, age 56, of Puyallup
• Dianna Riley, age 64, of Puyallup
• Ron Newark, age 73, of Tacoma
• Darlene Becker, age 68, of Lakewood
• Estel Greer, age 61, of Lakewood
• Terry Duncan, age 69, of Tacoma
• David A. Harvey, age 60, of Puyallup
• Paramjit Singh, age 53, of Puyallup
• Concordia Maguad Parreno, age 96, of Spanaway
• Maryann Parrot, age 74, of Tacoma
• Bonnie Mavoureen Loftin, age 76, of Sumner
• Michael Anthony Williams, age 55, of Tacoma
• Kathleen Russell, age 68, of Fircrest
• Dawn, Rencken, age 66, of Tacoma

The Medical Examiner's Office says it will release the names of the remaining deceased once their next of kin has been notified.

According to the Washington State Department of Health, at least 91 Washingtonians were killed by the record-breaking heat wave last month. The bulk lived in Pierce and King counties, though 19 of Washington's 39 counties reported at least one death. Washington's hospitals also logged more than 2,000 heat-related emergency room visits between June 25 and July 1, and the true number that may be even higher considering five percent of hospitals do not give data to the DOH, and the data does not include Washingtonians who sought care out of state or at the VA or military hospitals.

The DOH will continue to report heat-related deaths by county through the summer. That data will be updated every Monday.

While state officials are still working to determine the full death toll from June's heatwave, they also warn that it will likely to cause problems in the coming weeks as well. The ongoing drought and heat wave have left the state primed for wildfires. In order to minimize casualties from smoke inhalation and poor air quality, the Washington State Department of Emergency Management is asking everyone to prepare for wildfire smoke before it arrives.

Related: Washington Urged To Prepare For Wildfire Smoke: Here's How