Maricopa County: Metro Phoenix has 1st heat death this year

PHOENIX (AP) - Maricopa County health officials say metro Phoenix has had its first death related to heat-related illness this year.

The county health department announced the death Wednesday, saying the person who died was a homeless man who was dehydrated and found in a vehicle.

The statement did not specify when and where the man died but noted that temperatures are rising after being cooler than usual during May.

The agency said Maricopa County had 182 heat-associated deaths last year due to exposure to environmental heat and said that figure was the highest number of heat-associated deaths on record for the county, which includes most of metro Phoenix.