Starting this week, more than 100 digital billboards across the Valley will display important local heat safety resources, in partnership with Maricopa County and Canada. Clear Channel Outdoorthe Maricopa Association of Governments and the City of Phoenix. The billboard, owned by Clear Channel Outdoors, 211 Arizona During Arizona's dangerous late spring and summer heat, we direct at-risk residents to one of more than 230 local heat relief sites to help them stay cool.

“Working with our partners, we have expanded the hours of operation of our life-saving cooling centers across our region, and now we need as many people as possible to know about this resource,” said Jack Sellers, Chairman of Maricopa County Board of Supervisors District 1. “Clear Channel Outdoor understands the importance of this message — how it can save lives — and has generously offered to share their heat stroke prevention resources for free on their digital billboards.”

The Maricopa County Department of Public Health (MCDPH) confirmed a record 645 heat stroke deaths in 2023, a significant increase from the previous year. Digital billboards help counter this trend by promoting a free 24-hour 211 information service to assist people experiencing a heat stroke emergency. MCDPH is funding an expansion of bilingual call center capacity to connect residents to cooling and respite centers, utility assistance, and air conditioning repairs and replacements during the 2024 heat season.

“All residents of Maricopa County and the surrounding areas are feeling the effects of this extreme heat,” said Diane Velez, regional vice president for Clear Channel Outdoor Southwest & Midwest, “and everyone wants to prevent a summer like 2023 from happening. We know thousands of Maricopa County residents and visitors see our signs every day, and we hope that anyone in need will respond to this message and call 211 for help.”

According to the MCDPH survey, the biggest barriers to using cooling centers in 2023 were:

• I don't know it exists
• Lack of transportation to cooling centers
• I don't know where the cooling center is.

To solve this problem, Maricopa County partnered with the City of Phoenix to install branded road signs outside all cooling centers, some of which are now open on weekends.

“Providing opportunities for extended breaks and overnight rest is just one of the many efforts the City of Phoenix is ​​making to protect our residents during these hot days and months,” said Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego. “We're proud to partner with MAG, Clear Channel Outdoor and Maricopa County to ensure more people, including our most vulnerable, know how to get the help they need to stay safe.”

This new digital billboard campaign with Clear Channel Outdoor will further increase awareness and inform residents and visitors throughout Maricopa County of real-time temperatures and available resources.

For information on heat illness and prevention, visit Maricopa.gov/heat .

For real-time heat data, check out the new MCDPH dashboard.