On the heels of criticism, the City of Kelowna says four air-conditioned locations are open to the public looking to escape the heat.
For the past week, Environment Canada has been issuing warnings about temperatures spiking between 35 and 40 degrees. On Tuesday, the thermometer reached 34.1 C, and Wednesday’s forecast is calling for a high of 37, with Thursday expected to hit 38.
In preparation for the spike in temperatures, other Southern Interior communities — West Kelowna, Penticton, Osoyoos, Salmon Arm and Sicamous — announced that they were opening cooling centres to the public.
Not hearing that Kelowna had yet opened a cooling centre led to a critical tweet on Tuesday from Kelowna-Mission MLA Renee Merrifield.
“Not sure why but the only Okanagan cooling centres seem to be in Penticton. I sure hope to see a couple set up for our vulnerable population in #Kelowna,” tweeted Merrifield.
On Wednesday, the City of Kelowna announced the following locations as cooling centres:
Parkinson Recreation Centre
- Monday to Friday, 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
- Saturday and Sunday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Stat holidays, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Rutland Arena
- Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. (excluding the B.C. Day statutory holiday)
Rutland Activity Centre
- Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Capital News Centre
- Monday to Sunday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
“With warmer weather in the forecast, it’s important to stay hydrated and take breaks either in the shade or indoors,” Lance Kayfish, city risk manager, said in a press release.
“There are places all around our community to cool off including libraries, shopping centres, spray parks and city facilities.”
The announcement led to a reply from Merrifield, saying, “thank you to the staff at the @cityofkelowna for responding so quickly to this urgent need in our community!”