Summer hits Pierce County early. Here’s how to find cooling shelters
The South Sound will face scorching — well, scorching for us — temperatures today.
Most Pierce County towns will experience highs that are 80 degrees or higher, The News Tribune previously reported.
Cities across the region are preparing for the heat with cooling shelters.
Pierce County
Pierce County has severl cooling shelters open. You can find a full list here.
Pierce Transit is also offering free rides to cooling shelters, the county said on its website. Residents just need to tell the driver they are going to or from a cooling shelter.
Tacoma
The city of Tacoma’s website says members can access cooling spaces at all Tacoma Public Library locations during each site’s normal business hours.
Other cooling shelters, according to Pierce County’s website, include:
- St. Vincent de Paul at 4009 South 56th Street from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
- Tacoma Recovery Center at 2201 South 19th Street, Suite 101, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- Tacoma Rescue Mission at 425 South Tacoma Way from 9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
- Beacon Young Adult Shelter at 415 South 13th Street from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- Nativity House at 702 South 14th Street from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Lakewood
Cooling shelters are open at:
- Lakewood Pierce County Library at 10202 Gravelly Lake Drive SW from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
- LASA Hygiene Center at 8956 Gravelly Lake Drive SW from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- Tillicum Library at 14916 Washington Ave. SW from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Puyallup
The city of Puyallup’s website says the Puyallup Public Library at 324 South Meridian will operate as a cooling shelter during its normal business hours, which are:
- Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays: 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
- Wednesdays: noon to 7 p.m.
- Fridays and Saturdays: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The city’s website also lists the South Hill Mall at 3500 South Meridian as a cooling shelter from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturdays and Mondays, and from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sundays. The mall’s hours on its website are listed as being 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day except for Sundays, which have the 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. range.
The News Tribune reached out to Eric Johnson, spokesperson for the city of Puyallup, to ask why the hours differ on the city’s website, but did not get an immediate response.
Pierce County also lists the New Hope Resource Center at 414 Spring Street, which is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Gig Harbor
The city of Gig Harbor’s website lists the Gig Harbor Pierce County Library as the primary cooling shelter, located at 4424 Point Fosdick Drive and open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. On Fridays, it’s open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on Sundays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
