Cooling Centers Open As Heat Wave Blasts Riverside County

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — With the onset of what's predicted to be a nearly week-long heat wave, officials Monday reminded residents that dozens of "cool centers" will be open during daylight hours for people to escape the scorching temperatures throughout Riverside County.

"High temperatures can be hazardous for many people, especially for the elderly and those with medical conditions," according to a Riverside University Health System statement. "Heat-related injuries such as heat stroke, an illness that occurs when the body can no longer regulate its temperature, can strike fast and pose life-threatening consequences."

The mercury is predicted to exceed 100 degrees in many Inland Empire locations beginning Tuesday, and by the start of Labor Day Weekend, almost the entire region will be baking in triple-digit heat, according to the National Weather Service.

An Excessive Heat Warning is in effect from 10 a.m. Tuesday to 8 p.m. Monday, Labor Day.

The NWS released a statement saying the region is in store for "a potentially long duration heat wave, beginning Tuesday and Wednesday and continuing into at least early next week."

"Hot and unstable conditions, along with minimum relative humidity each day well inland, will lead to the potential of large vertical plume growth for any new fires that develop, particularly in the foothills and in the mountains," the NWS stated.

According to forecasters, high pressure ridges trundling over the Great Basin of Utah and Nevada will, over the next six or seven days, influence weather patterns, pushing moisture out and pushing the mercury into the triple digits across Riverside County.

An Excessive Heat Watch was expected to remain in effect from Tuesday morning to Sunday night.

Cool centers provide space where residents without air-conditioning can relax, generally from late morning to early evening.

The cool centers are comprised of libraries, community centers, food banks and religious facilities, and more than 70 are available countywide.

Examples include:

• The Banning Senior Center: 789 San Gorgonio, Banning.
• Albert A. Chaligny Senior Community Center: 1310 Oak Valley Parkway, Beaumont.
• Lakeview Chapel: 32700 Mission Trail, Lake Elsinore (Wildomar).
• Lake Elsinore Senior Center: 420 E. Lakeshore Drive, Lake Elsinore.
• Murrieta Senior Center: 5 Town Square, Murrieta.
• Joslyn Center: 73-750 Catalina Way, Palm Desert.
• Palm Desert Community Center: 43-900 San Pablo Avenue, Palm Desert.
• Palm Desert Library: 73300 Fred Waring Drive, Palm Desert.
• Mary Philips Senior Center: 41845 6ht Street, Temecula.

Cooling centers are open in almost every city across Riverside County.

Additional information is available at www.capriverside.org.