With hot days ahead, Spokane activates cooling centers for the vulnerable
With a heat wave advisory in effect through Thursday in the Spokane area, the city is advising vulnerable residents to weather the temperatures at one of six public library buildings or the city’s largest homeless shelter.
Cool spaces, water and other amenities can be accessed at the Central Library at 906 W. Main St., the Shadle Park Library at 2111 W. Wellesley Ave., the Liberty Park Library at 402 S. Pittsburg St., the Hillyard Library at 4110 N. Cook St., the South Hill Library at 3324 S. Perry St. and the Indian Trail Library at 4909 W. Barnes Road. The libraries are open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday.
The Trent Resource and Assistance Center also serves as a cooling center and offers meals, water and snacks.
The Spokane Transit Authority offers free fare to riders going to and from a cooling space when temperatures reach 95 degrees or above, so long as riders indicate to bus drivers they are accessing a cooling center. The Salvation Army also offers vans to pick up those in need to help transport them to local shelters, which can be accessed by calling 509-280-6860 or 509-280-6894.
The city is seeking donations of bottled water, sports drinks and drink powders, sunscreen products and single-pack snacks. Those interested in donating can email Sarah Nuss, director of emergency management, at snuss@spokanecity.org to arrange a pickup. Meals on Wheels Spokane, located at 1222 W. Second Ave., is also accepting new fans for senior citizens.
Gonzaga University’s Center for Climate, Society & the Environment also maintains an interactive map of the Spokane region with cooling centers, water fountains, splash pads and pools, as well as public parks that can provide shade.
As each year breaks new heat records, with 20 deaths in Spokane County in 2021 attributed to that year’s heat wave, local cooling centers are becoming an increasingly important refuge for those vulnerable to extreme weather.
But city-sponsored cooling centers remain “grotesquely insufficient,” said Barry Barfield, administrator for the Spokane Homeless Coalition and an applicant for an open seat on the Spokane City Council. He criticized the lack of air conditioning units at the Trent homeless shelter and argued that resources like fare-free transportation weren’t sufficiently communicated to the homeless.
Barfield also noted that the most vulnerable group during extreme heat events is the elderly – most of those who died during the 2021 heat wave were elderly people in their homes.
“I don’t see anything being done to reach out to them,” Barfield said. “Meals on Wheels does try to provide fans, but I’m sure there are a bunch of elderly shut-ins that are suffering in silence – the Trent shelter is probably not a great place for the elderly.”
City spokesman Brian Coddington said it’s unfair to criticize the city’s resources when surrounding jurisdictions offer less. City law requires that Spokane provide emergency weather shelters, including during extreme heat, a requirement that was made more strict in 2021.
Coddington also argued that the city’s cooling resources were communicated through the press, community updates to the public and word of mouth, noting that this system of responding to extreme weather has been in place for two summers now.
“The shelters all know, the libraries know and communicate this as well,” he said.
He acknowledged that the Trent shelter doesn’t have air conditioning, but said that they have large fans and use ice to circulate cold air. Coddington also said it had proven difficult to expand the city’s extreme weather resources, due to complications trying to coordinate with community or faith-based organizations with short notice.