San Jose cooling centers open to help residents beat the heat
SAN JOSE, Calif. (KTVU) - Wednesday, San Jose city officials said when the temperature touches 97 degrees, conditions trigger the opening of cooling centers. For those who can’t go to the cool, efforts are underway to bring the cool to them.
With the mercury reading at least 90 degrees by midday, volunteers had fanned out to distribute water and other items at a homeless encampment on Story Road.
“It’s extremely dangerous because first of all the homeless die of exposure. Cold nights. Hot days,” said Pastor Scott Wagers of CHAM Deliverance Ministry. “So you’re talking about something almost apocalyptic.”
For the third consecutive day, searing heat blanketed the Bay Area. Weather forecasters said the source is hundreds of miles to the south.
“We’ve got hot air leaking up from the great desert southwest, places like Phoenix and Tuscon, where it’s hot all the time. And if some of that air moves up over us, we have a heatwave,” said Dr. Alison Bridger, a meteorologist at San Jose State University.
The difference now, COVID-19 has cut off normal avenues of relief from the heat.
“In other times, people would be able to go to the malls or to the movie theater to get a reprieve from the heat. Right now the only option really is the five cooling centers,” said Carolina Camarena, a spokeswoman for the San Jose Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services.
On Tuesday afternoon, the city opened five cooling centers across San Jose. Those wishing to enter are temperature screened and must follow county guidelines such as wearing a face mask and practicing social distancing.
“Your home is still the safest place to limit the spread of COVID-19. However for those folks who are unable to be at home, in a cool area, we do wanna offer an option,” said Camarena.
Back at the encampment, where staying home isn’t an option, volunteers said the combination of a pandemic and crippling is a recipe for disaster.
“This is just a time bomb waiting to go off. This is an outbreak waiting to happen,” said Shaunn Cartwright of the Unhoused Response Group, a volunteer organization that handed out supplies and water at a San Jose homeless encampment
Unhoused Response Group members and CHAM Deliverance Ministry would like to see more city resources targeted to homeless encampments.
As for the cooling centers, they’re open until 9 p.m. Wednesday, and from 1 to 7 p.m. Thursday. There are no plans for the centers to open Friday since the high temperature is forecast to be in the low 80s.
Cooling Center Locations:
- Mayfair Community Center; 2039 Kammerer Ave. San José, CA 95116
- Camden Community Center; 3369 Union Ave. San José, CA 95124
- Seven Trees Community Center; 3590 Cas Dr. San José, CA 95111
- Roosevelt Community Center; 901 E. Santa Clara St. San José, CA 95111
- Cypress Community Center; 403 Cypress Ave. San José, CA 95117