With the high heat here for the week, Yuba City opening a cooling center
In the midst of triple-digit temperatures, Yuba City will open an emergency cooling center for those seeking a reprieve from the heat.
The Yuba City Senior Center will open its doors from 7:30 a.m.8 p.m. beginning today. The center opens after several consecutive days of temperatures above 100 degrees.
“We wanted to provide an
PLEASE RECYCLE THIS NEWSPAPER AFTER READING opportunity for people to seek relief,” said Darin Gale, public information officer for Yuba City. “This shows how the City Council and public health department prioritize the safety of its residents.”
Gale said the last time a cooling center was opened was in 2012, also at the senior center. Gale said the city will monitor the center day by day and determine when to stop the program. No additional locations are planned.
According to Jessica Roberts, recreation supervisor for Yuba City Parks and Recreation Department, the center can accommodate up to 400 people at one time. Plenty of board games and movies will be available to those who show up.
As it stands, neither Yuba County nor Sutter County plans on opening cooling centers.
Chuck Smith, public information officer for Sutter County, said the county relies on a heat
index provided by the National Weather Service to make the determination on opening such centers. The index takes into account both temperature and humidity.
According to Smith, humidity in the area is still low enough to avoid extreme danger zones on the heat index.
“We would certainly be very concerned if that atypical condition occurred,” he said. “We would open a cooling center if the high temperatures combined with very high humidity created such dangerous outside conditions. We continue to monitor conditions and remind people to hydrate, reduce outside activities, and check on family, friends and neighbors.”
Scott Bryan, emergency services manager for Yuba County, said sustained nighttime temperatures above 80 degrees are a determining factor to opening cooling centers.
Nighttime temperatures have driven below 80 degrees this past week. If temperatures did meet the required threshold, a committee would convene to discuss opening a center.
Bryan said the county has not opened such a center in the past several years.
County officials continue to advise residents on taking preventative measures to avoid heat-related illnesses.
“The main thing right now is making sure people are watching out for what they are doing,” Bryan said. “What we have done to this point has been standard operating procedure for the county.”
Bryan said officials at this stage are getting the message out through social media and news outlets about extreme heat safe- ty tips and health warning signs.
Sutter County Public Health, Sutter Office of Emergency Management, Yuba County Office of Emergency Services, and Yuba County Public Health departments have all shared information this past week about high temperatures and methods to staying cool on their respective Facebook pages.
The most important tips the agencies have shared include staying hydrated, wearing appropriate clothing and sunscreen, scheduling outdoor activities carefully, pacing yourself, and checking in on family, friends and animals.
Cory Mueller, meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said the MidValley is in an excessive heat warning through Thursday. The excessive heat warning extends from as far north as Redding and encompasses the Central Valley to the state’s border with Mexico.
Triple-digit temperatures will continue through Saturday, with a high of 110 degrees expected Thursday. Sunday’s high temperature is expected to dip under triple digits at 98 degrees.
Nighttime lows are expected to range from the mid-to-high 70s through Wednesday. Between Thursday and Sunday, lows are expected to dip into the high 60s and low 70s.
Mueller said future temperature forecasts could not be accurately predicted beyond this week.
“It is too hard to say that because this week is hot, the rest of the season will be like this,” said Mueller. “Even the coolest summer seasons have streaks of hot weather like this. The trend is moving upward, but there is no accurate information to say hot weather is here to stay.”