SAN DIEGO — Local leaders, police, medical and substance abuse specialists are continuing to educate on the dangers of opioids and fentanyl-laced drugs.

This comes as San Diego Fire Department and the United States Drug Enforcement Administration confirmed two people died of a suspected fentanyl overdose Thursday morning.

“It is truly a race against time, every single day, it doesn’t stop,” San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan said.

Fentanyl overdoses in San Diego County is staggering. At a news conference Thursday, San Diego City Mayor Todd Gloria said county data shows in 2021, fentanyl overdoses killed 812 people in the county. Gloria said this year, from just January to June, fentanyl overdoses have killed 825 people.

Thursday morning, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Overdose Response Team, which is comprised of personnel from seven federal, state and local agencies, investigated a suspected fentanyl overdose on Louisiana Street in University Heights.

The DEA said four people overdosed — two of them died.

“Never expect that from something right down the street,” neighbor Bruce Gilmour said.

According to the DEA, there is no exact cause of death yet, but they found fentanyl at their home. The agency is waiting on the county medical examiner’s office to finish their toxicology report to determine the drug used.

Dr. Roneet Lev, Scripps Emergency and Addiction Physician, says “the reason fentanyl is so tragic, compared to other drugs we’ve seen is because it’s infiltrated the entire drug market.”

Dr. Lev said she spent ten months leading a community task force on fentanyl education in San Diego County. They ran a pilot program teaching hospitals how to test for fentanyl in their normal drug testing.

Because of their work, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 864, known as Tyler’s Law.

Dr. Lev explained that Tyler is a 14-year-old boy that died of fentanyl. She said Tyler went to the emergency room two days before he died and tested negative on a drug screen.

The law requires all hospitals in California to include fentanyl testing in a urine drug screen, starting Jan. 1, 2023.

“It does not cure the fent problem, but it engages the medical community in solutions, but having that data for the doctor for the patient can have a clinical impact down the road,” Dr. Lev said.

Goldie Wright, a licensed marriage and family therapist and primary therapist for the inpatient unit at Sharp McDonald Center, said she has seen a huge increase in people seeking fentanyl treatment.

“Sharp McDonald Center is the only medically supervised substance abuse recovery center in San Diego County that provides state-of-the-art treatment for adults and their families. Serving all of San Diego, Sharp McDonald Center provides an individually tailored approach to drug rehab and alcohol treatment,” according to Sharp Medical.

Kids all the way from elementary school to up until people in their 70s and 80s are being affecting, Wright said. She told FOX they are not alone as the McDonald’s Center’s goal is supporting, not judging or stigmatizing, through communication and learning coping skills.

“Life is hard, but let’s not make it harder. By coming to treatment and being able to be around people struggling with the same things, and feeling normalized and like a human, it’s worth it,” Wright said.