Cooling centers open in Pierce County this weekend for people escaping the heat
Cooling centers will open this weekend for people looking to escape the heat.
Pierce County Emergency Management will set up a cooling tent in the parking lot of Church for All Nations at 111 112th St. E. in Parkland. The cooling center will operate from noon to 8 p.m. on Saturday.
The South Hill Mall in Puyallup will also be the site of a cooling center. It will operate from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday and 10 a.m. on 9 p.m. on Monday.
There will be water and fans to keep the air moving, said Mike Halliday, spokesperson for Pierce County Emergency Management.
Pierce Transit is offering free roundtrip bus rides to cooling centers starting Friday through Monday. Passengers can tell the bus driver that’s where they’re headed.
The National Weather Service’s seven-day forecast shows highs reaching into the 90s in Tacoma. In some locations, meteorologists are not ruling out the high reaching 100 degrees.
In Tacoma, Tacoma public libraries are open Tuesday through Saturday, with limited capacity to 50 percent and visits on a first come, first served basis due to COVID-19 restrictions.
In a press release Thursday afternoon, the city of Tacoma said it was working with Korean Women’s Association (KWA) to begin operating a cooling and air quality relief center, with an anticipated opening on Monday at Lighthouse Activity Center, 5106 A Street. The center will be open on weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. when temperature forecast is above 85 degrees. The center is able to accommodate 50 people at a time and is open to walk-ins on a first come, first served basis.
Pierce County Library System will have five libraries open for browsing and check out by Friday, with limited hours and capacity. Those libraries include University Place, Tillicum, Dupont, Bonney Lake and Buckley libraries.
The city of Fife will also open a cooling center from 1-7 p.m. Saturday, Sunday and Monday at the Fife Community Center, 2111 54th Ave E. There will be bottled water, games, a DIY craft station and free WiFi in an air conditioned space.
The city of Puyallup and the Puyallup Food Bank will host a cooling center from 3-9 p.m. Saturday through Monday. The Puyallup Food Bank will open up nearly half of its new 11,500 square foot facility in downtown, located at 217 W Stewart Ave.
“It just makes sense for us to utilize our building to serve our community,” said food bank CEO Shawn Manley. “We believe that food is the first step to a more hopeful future, and people will need hope in the form of cool water and hospitality this weekend. That’s why we are pivoting to address the heatwave by opening our space and our hearts to those struggling to keep cool.”
The City of Lakewood will open City Hall Council Chambers as a cooling station on Sunday, June 28 and Monday, June 29 between noon and 7 p.m., the city announced Friday.
City Hall is at 6000 Main St. SW, Lakewood.
This story was originally published June 24, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
