Cooling centres to open across the Central Okanagan region
Central Okanagan, B.C. – The Central Okanagan Emergency Operations centre has been activated to support the opening of several cooling centres across the area, in response to the heat warning issued by Environment Canada.
Forecasted daytime highs are expected to be between 37 and 42 degrees Celsius (98 and 107 Fahrenheit) over the coming week. These elevated temperatures over several days put various populations at risk of heat-related illness including seniors, children, people with underlying health conditions and those who do not have access to air conditioning.
Starting on Sunday, June 27, the following locations will be available as cooling centres for the community:
City of Kelowna
- Parkinson Activity Centre, 1700 Parkinson Way, 11 a.m. – 7 p.m.
- Rutland Activity Centre, 765 Dodd Rd., 11 a.m. – 7 p.m.
City of West Kelowna
- Lakeview Heights Baptist Church, 2630 Alhambra Dr., 11:30 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.
District of Peachland
- Peachland Community Centre, 4450 6th Street, 11 a.m. – 7 p.m.
All cooling centres will follow Provincial Health Orders for COVID-19 to keep populations safe and will have supplies of water, masks and hand sanitizer on-hand and physical distancing measures will be in place. The wearing of masks in the cooling centres is required as per the guidelines for cooling centres from the BC Centre for Disease Control. The cooling centres will remain open until the heat wave subsides.
Additional cooling centres may open in the coming week. Keep an eye on local news and cordemergency.ca. CORD Emergency officials recommend checking on neighbours and family to ensure that they are staying cool, keeping hydrated and determining whether they need any assistance.
For information and tips about how to manage during the heat, visit Interior Health.
Be sure to sign-up for e-updates to receive timely updates directly to your inbox about emergency incidents. The Central Okanagan Emergency Operation Centre also provides information on Facebook at facebook.com/CORDEmergency and Twitter at twitter.com/CO_Emerg.
The Central Okanagan Emergency Operations website, cordemergency.ca, is a centralized location for regional public emergency and preparedness information, including links to useful provincial and federal emergency resources such as PreparedBC, BC Wildfire Services, Emergency Management BC and Air Quality readings.
