With temperatures expected to reach near 100 degrees on Thursday and Friday and a National Weather Service heat advisory in effect, the City of Portland has ensured that there are cool, air-conditioned places for the community. The City is proactively opening up two Portland Parks & Recreation community centers and the Portland Building for anyone in need of place to stay safe and cool.
The following locations will open this Thursday and Friday from noon to 9 p.m.
Check Multnomah County’s “Help for What It’s Hot” website for additional cooling spots including libraries and other public locations - https://www.multco.us/help-when-its-hot.
Portland is also working with community partners to offer pop-up cooling spaces in neighborhoods, including culturally-specific resources. The City is working with Multnomah County to conduct direct outreach to houseless individuals to distribute water, electrolyte packets, and other cooling items as well as activating its network of over 2,200 Neighborhood Emergency Team volunteers to help with heat-related efforts.
After the June heat wave, Mayor Wheeler directed the Portland Bureau of Emergency Management Director and Community Safety Transition Director to co-convene a task force to create short-term and long-term plans to better prepare for future heat emergencies. Portland’s actions this week, drawing from the task force’s work, will provide more ways for the community to stay safe with hot temperatures in the forecast.
“We must act with urgency to ensure community safety as extreme heat becomes the new normal,” said Mayor Wheeler. “I ask all Portlanders to check in with family, friends, and neighbors this week, especially those living alone and without air conditioning, and share where they can go to keep cool.”
Additional safety information about extreme heat and what you can do to stay safe is available at https://www.publicalerts.org/extreme-heat.
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