FILE PHOTO

(STEVE ARSTAD / iNFOnews.ca)

Cooling centres are opening for the public in Kamloops and the Okanagan as a week-long heat wave hits most of B.C.

Temperatures are expected to stay well above 30 Celsius until Sunday, July 31, and anyone at risk from the heat can find relief at local facilities.

The City of Kamloops has opened the concourse at the Sandman Centre from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. as long as heat warnings are in effect. Community service officers and other social service workers will distribute water while on patrol, according to a news release from the city.

READ MORE: Kamloops, Okanagan cities expected to take brunt of increasing heat waves: study

In Penticton, four city facilities will be kept open throughout the day, with the Penticton Community Centre open the longest from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. Like Kamloops, bylaw officers will hand out water to people who need it while on patrol.

A heat warning is issued in the Interior Health region when daytime temperatures are forecasted to be higher than 35 C for two days in a row, without dropping below 18 C overnight.

READ MORE: It's going to get hot; heat warning issued for Okanagan, Kamloops

The B.C. Coroners Service blamed last year's heat dome for 57 deaths in the Thompson-Okanagan, and 595 across the province. Heat waves are expected to be longer, more extreme and more frequent, especially in the Okanagan, as climate change warms global temperatures.

The City of Vernon and others in the Central Okanagan are still planning what they can do to offer relief for people who need to escape the heat.

"We're in the process of getting our ducks in a row," City of Vernon spokesperson Christy Poirier said.

The Central Okanagan Regional District coordinates services with cities in the region, including Kelowna, Lake Country, West Kelowna and Peachland.

READ MORE: 'Ignorance' no excuse for Kalamalka Lake Park interface fire: District of Coldstream

"Nobody has expressed any support other than Peachland," regional district emergency program coordinator, Sandra Follack, said.

She said municipal governments are meeting Tuesday, July 26, to plan cooling centres in the region. Although the local governments are preparing for last-minute plans, Follack said the regional district can open cooling centres as soon as they're called upon.

"If the local governments reach out, we've got it ready to go right away," she said.

In the Shuswap region, Salmon Arm and Sicamous also have cooling centres open while heat warnings remain in effect, with two in Salmon Arm and one in Sicamous.

Go here for more information from Interior Health on heat waves and how you should prepare.

To contact a reporter for this story, email Levi Landry or call 250-819-3723 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. 

News from © iNFOnews, 2022