City of Burnaby plans to battle extreme heat with cooling centres

Burnaby is getting proactive when it comes to any potential extreme heatwaves this summer.

After the historic ‘heat dome’ the region experienced last summer, steps were taken to combat any similar issues this year.

Chris Bryan spokesperson for Burnaby, said the city was having cooling centre open houses to educate people on where to go when the hot weather arrives.

“The City wants to make sure everybody’s ready, and is safe this summer. So we’re having a couple of cooling center open houses this weekend. We’ll have another couple at the end of the month,” said Bryan.

The weather may be nice and cool these days, but we know things can change quickly.

Come to an open house this Sunday to learn about our Cooling Centres, our heat response plan and our new public alert system, as well as tips on keeping cool at home. https://t.co/XK4yNUYfYe pic.twitter.com/cEKuWTWN03

— City of Burnaby (@CityofBurnaby) May 13, 2022

He explained the City picked community centres in the four corners of Burnaby to best serve people and would offer several amenities to give comfort to people using the centres.

“We’ll have seating, we’ll have water, we’ll have washrooms and shower access, but then Wi-Fi for free as well … they’re quite large spaces (and) air-conditioned. And then we can always expand into other areas, if needed.”

Bryan said that last year’s extreme heat caught many people off guard and spreading the word on the cooling centres would help battle future heatwaves.

“It’s really important to be aware of the need to go to be able to go to cooling center if you need it.”

The good news for pet owners is that these cooling centres will accept pets, as long as they are in a cage or crate.

The open houses will be held on:

• May 15 11:30 a.m.to 2 p.m. at Cameron Recreation Complex
• May 15 5:30 to 8 p.m at Confederation Seniors Centre
• May 29 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Bonsor Recreation Complex
• May 29 5:30 to 8 p.m. at Edmonds Recreation Centre