Santa Clara’s “cooling stations” opened this morning and will remain open through Friday to help Santa Clarans beat the heat.
The “cooling/respite stations,” i.e., the senior center, libraries and the community center are air conditioned and have water available to the public. This latest weather advisory comes on the heels of last weekend’s extreme heat wave.
David Flamm, chief emergency services officer, said the weekend heat wave was the worst since 2006, when more than 600 people died across the state.
“Our heat events in the Bay Area … they generally last for two or three days. In that situation, they are not as threatening,” he said. “We recognized the need to have [the cooling stations] open during the holiday. We were taking it very seriously, so we saw no reason why we wouldn’t have things available for people.”
Generally, most people are able to tolerate one or two days of high heat, Flamm said. But when the National Weather Service (NWS) issues an advisory, the city sees fit to keep the stations open longer than typical, such as during a holiday or on a Sunday.
Since the stations do not provide the full range of services the building would typically offer, simply offering an air-conditioned room and bathrooms, the cost to the city is minimal.
While Flamm said that anecdotally, many who use the stations are homeless people looking to get out of the heat, some users simply don’t have air conditioning and need a place to cool off during the hottest hours of the day.
Regardless of whether the stations see good use, Flamm said, the city makes them available once the NWS issues an advisory. Figures on many users the stations have had since the NWS issued its advisory July 2 were unavailable.
Santa Clara coordinates with the county as well as PG&E for energy delivery.
Staying hydrated, proper layering and not overexerting oneself can go a long way toward staying safe, Flamm said. Moving into the hottest part of the year, Flamm said the city will continue to make the stations available should temperature spike for lengthy periods.
For cooling station hours and locations visit: https://www.santaclaraca.gov/
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