186 State of Disaster: Preparing for a future with hotter summers with Lt. Colonel Ivan Wild

Where would you go if you could live anywhere you wanted?

For a lot of Americans, the answer is Phoenix. In fact, Maricopa County, Arizona, which includes Phoenix, Mesa and Scottsdale, has held the title of "fastest growing county in the U.S. by numeric growth" for much of the past decade.

But, Maricopa isn’t just one of the hottest places in terms of popularity. It’s also the literal hottest metropolitan area in the U.S.

Summertime, in particular, is dangerously hot in Maricopa County, and getting hotter every passing year. Last year, in 2023, Maricopa County identified a total of 645 heat-related deaths—a 52 percent increase from the previous year and the most heat-related deaths ever recorded. 

The Salvation Army runs a network of heat relief stations throughout Maricopa County to help residents stay safe and hydrated, and out of the record-breaking temperatures. 

Lt. Colonel Ivan Wild, Divisional Commander of The Salvation Army Southwest Division, is on the show to talk about The Salvation Army's heat-related disaster response efforts and how the organization plans to better serve its communities amid more extreme weather events.

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