By Aaron Bolton, MTPR and KFF Health News Missoula is one of Montana’s largest cities but is surrounded by rural mountain communities where cattle ranching is king. Despite the latitude and altitude, in recent years this region has experienced punishing summer heat waves. It has been difficult for residents to adapt to the warming climate and new seasonal swings.
Many don’t have air conditioning and are unprepared for the new pattern of daytime temperatures hovering in the 90s — for days or even weeks on end. Dehydration, heat exhaustion, heatstroke, and abnormalities in heart rate and blood pressure are among the many health complications that can develop from excessive exposure to high temperatures. It can happen anywhere and to anyone, said Missoula firefighter Andrew Drobeck.
He remembers a recent 911 call. The temperature that day had risen to over 90 degrees and a worker at a local dollar store had fainted. “She’s sensitive to the heat.
Their AC wasn’t working super good,” Drobeck said. “I guess they only get a 15-minute break.” Drobeck said many of the heat calls his department receives are from seniors who struggle to stay cool inside their older homes.
Montana’s population is among the oldest in the country. About 1 in 4 residents are over 60. Those over 65 are especially vulnerable to heat-related illness, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
As people age, their bodies don’t acclimate to heat as well as they did when th.