City of Spokane opens cooling centers so people can escape the heat

June 26, 2021 6:50 pm

Elenee Dao

Posted: Jun 26, 2021 6:50 PM

SPOKANE, Washington – Approximately a thousand spots will be open across Spokane for people to cool off this weekend and well into next weekend.

The city uses multipurpose rooms in the Looff Carrousel building as well as public libraries to help people escape the heat.

Spokane Mayor Nadine Woodward attended the opening on Saturday to tour the refrigeration center at Looff Carrousel. 72 seats have been set up as well as an outdoor tent for those who want to be outside in the shade.

Earlier this week, Councilor Betsy Wilkerson criticized the administration for not opening refrigeration centers earlier and for not having more permanent solutions.

“We spent several days planning what to do on the carousel,” Woodward replied. “We wanted to make sure we had the facilities, that we had the staff and what those hours were like and that we were using the infrastructure that we already have and that are already in place.”

The cooling center in the Looff Carrousel building will be open at least for the next week from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. as Spokane is forecasting three-digit temperatures.

The capacity restrictions related to COVID have been lifted for cooling centers as the Northwest deals with the historic heatwave.

LIST: Cooling centers throughout the northwest of the country

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