safety
San Diego County has logged a record 378 heat-related 911 calls this year, county data show
The count through Sept. 17 already exceeds all of 2025, when there were 247 such calls. The city's 911 volume jumped during the Oct. 3 heat wave.
San Diego County received 378 heat-related 911 calls from the start of the year through Sept. 17, more than the 247 in all of 2025, according to county data reported by KPBS. The busiest single day was Sept. 8, with 23 calls. Heat waves in March 13–21 and Sept. 7–11 accounted for 35 and 62 calls.
Of the 378 calls, 231 involved men, and most involved people ages 15 to 44, with most calls from San Diego city neighborhoods. County Public Health Officer Dr. Sayone Thihalolipavan attributed the younger skew to outdoor work and recreation. Deputy Fire Chief Willy Melendez cautioned that dispatchers often can't tell whether a call is heat-related unless the caller says so.
During the Oct. 3 heat wave, KPBS reported, the city of San Diego handled 925 calls in 24 hours on Saturday, a 42% increase, and 729 incidents, 41% above the same date over the previous three years. Ambulances took more than 400 people to hospitals, up 30% from Oct. 3, 2025.
How this story was made: drafted with AI assistance, then checked line by line against the sources below by a San Diego Insight editor before publishing. Our standards.
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