NATIONAL BRIEFING

A sweat lodge outside Sedona, where two people were overcome and later died, lacked a building permit, Yavapai County building safety manager Jack Judd said. There was no record of an application or permit for a temporary structure at the Angel Valley Retreat Center, he said.

At any one time, 55 to 65 people attending the program hosted by self-help expert and author James Arthur Ray were crowded into the 415-square-foot space during a two-hour period Thursday night, Yavapai County sheriff’s officials said. The structure was built specifically for the retreat. Resort owner Michael Hamilton declined to address the permit issue. Nineteen people were hospitalized with symptoms ranging from dehydration to kidney failure.