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Kal Tire Place (Photo credit: City of Vernon)
By Liam Verster
Beat the Heat

Residents can find relief from heat at Kal Tire Place

Aug 11, 2021 | 11:17 AM

With the temperature rising and the air quality being affected by the wildfire smoke, the City of Vernon has extended the public walking hours at Kal Tire Place, to allow people to seek refuge from the weather.

The mercury is expected to climb to around 35 C this week, and in order to maintain the health and safety of residents and visitors, the city is providing a few options to beat the heat.

Kal Tire Place on 43rd Avenue is not an official cooling centre as in the past, but it will be offering longer walking hours, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. today through Friday (Aug.13), while the Vernon branch of the Okanagan Regional Library and Village Green Shopping Centre are other sites people can go to cool off.

Christy Poirier, communications manager with the City of Vernon, said Kal Tire Place is not an official cooling centre for this weather incident.

“The differentiation could be quite important for some people because when we opened a full cooling centre at the end of June, it included the provision of bottled water and allowed pets inside the building. This is not the case for this week. We’ve just extended hours of operation to provide a place for people to walk the concourse or rest for a while,” Poirier told Vernon Matters.

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On Saturday, Kal Tire Place will be open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., the library will be open from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., while the shopping centre will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The library will not be open to the public on Sunday, but people can still seek refuge from the heat at Kal Tire Place between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m., or at the shopping centre from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The city is also encouraging the public to practice heat and wildfire smoke safety in their own residences by staying hydrated, avoiding prolonged exposure to the smoke, avoiding strenuous work in the heat, and watching out for children, the elderly and those who are immunocompromised.

 

We’d hate to build certain expectations for people of services that are not being included at this time.

by Liam Verster
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