More relief from heat wave available for Modesto’s most vulnerable residents
Modesto’s most vulnerable residents will get a little more relief from the Labor Day weekend heat wave.
The Stanislaus County Office of Emergency Services late Friday afternoon updated its list of cooling centers to add a second day that the county library branch in downtown Modesto will serve as a cooling center.
The list initially had the branch as a cooling center Monday from noon to 9 p.m. (Like nearly all county library branches it is open Saturdays. All are closed Sundays.) The updated list now adds Sunday as a cooling center from noon to 9 p.m.
This came as city and county officials continued to talk on providing more relief for residents. The sticking point appeared to be staffing the center a second day in Modesto, which is home to about 40% of the county’s residents.
Modesto spokesman Andrew Gonzales said the city has been working with the county to find the staffing and not just for the Modesto center. Gonzales said city employees will be working in other centers, too, though he could not say how many. “We understand the seriousness of this,” he said.
He said the lobby in the downtown transit center, which is a hub for bus service, normally would serve as a cooling center, but it is not available as the center undergoes a renovation.
The county also will open its library branches as cooling centers Monday from noon to 9 p.m. in Newman, Oakdale, Patterson, Riverbank, Empire, Turlock and Salida. The branches will not open as cooling centers this Sunday.
OES spokesman Raj Singh said water will be available at the cooling centers, but as of Friday there was no plan to provide snacks. He said the libraries will operate strictly as cooling centers and will not offer their regular services.
There are other options to escape the heat Sunday, during the first day of an excessive heat warning from the National Weather Service that is in effect from 11 a.m. Sunday though 8 p.m. Wednesday.
For instance, the Patterson City Hall lobby is open noon to 5 p.m. over the three-day holiday weekend, and Oakdale’s Gladys L. Lemmons Senior Center is open Sunday and Monday noon to 6 p.m. That is according to the Office of Emergency Services.
The Hughson Community-Senior Center also is available as a cooling center over the three-day holiday weekend. City Manager Merry Mayhew said in an email there will be a sign on the door with a phone number to call to have the center opened.
The lobby of the Turlock Transit Center will be open from at least 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. during the excessive heat warning, including Sunday and Monday, according to the Office of Emergency Services’ list of cooling centers.
People can seek relief at the Modesto Gospel Mission’s day program. Executive Director Jason Conway said earlier this week the program is open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m, including over the three-day holiday weekend.
The program is for the mission’s shelter clients, but Conway said anyone wanting to keep cool is welcome. They don’t have to participate in the program, and the mission will offer them water and something to eat. Conway said people also can spend the night at the mission if they don’t have other options to stay cool.
And while Stanislaus Regional Transit Authority bus service is closed Monday for the holiday, the transit authority will operate two vans providing free rides to the nearest cooling center for residents in its service area.
The National Weather Service in Sacramento has the entire region it covers, from Redding to Modesto, under an excessive heat warning. The weather service is predicting daytime highs of 102 to 109 degrees from Saturday through Wednesday for Modesto, with nighttime lows of 72 to 79 degrees.
Modesto’s normal temperatures this time of the year are daytime highs of 91 or 92 with overnight lows of 60 or 61, according to the weather service.
Singh said homeless people generally do not use cooling centers. He said seniors and low-income people are more likely to use them.
He said officials are getting out the word about the cooling centers through social media and the news media. He said they are also speaking with first responders, hospitals and county agencies that work with vulnerable people. Residents also can get updated information at stanemergency.com.
Stanislaus Regional Transit Authority CEO Adam Barth said in an email that residents within its service area can call 209-527-4900 on Monday to get a ride to a cooling center. He said they also can call for a ride home from a center. He said a van will take them to the nearest center.
Barth said this service also will be available Sunday except in Modesto because the transit authority will be operating buses in the city that day. It will not have bus service in its other service areas. Buses are running Saturday.
The transit authority also is waiving fees Saturday through Tuesday.
This story was originally published September 2, 2022 at 8:09 PM.
