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(Shutterstock / Juke26)
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.