It’s a heat wave weekend in Los Angeles County and cooling centers are being opened by county officials — and by city officials in Los Angeles, San Fernando, Glendale, Palmdale and other locales — starting on Friday, July 14. Or take a dip in a public pool. If you don’t have access to fans or AC, here are some options to get heat relief for free.
Los Angeles County has 41 free public swimming pools where anyone can beat the heat. Besides free swimming pools, the county offers splash pads and three swimming lakes. County facilities offer swimming for seniors, youths, polo teams and lap swimmers — all for free. Popular splash pads and pools are also offered by the City of Los Angeles.
The L.A. Department of Recreation and Parks has a tool online to help Angelenos locate year-round pools and active pools in their communities, found at laparks.org/aquatic/year-round. Angelenos can also find a cooling spot using the city’s Cool Spots LA App at bit.ly/CoolSpotsLA.
“As we hit triple digit temperatures in the West Valley, please hydrate and take steps to stay cool,” Los Angeles City Councilmember Bob Blumenfield, who represents much of the West Valley, wrote on Twitter. “With high heat in the forecast, it’s important to take care of your pets and protect them during the hot summer months,” Blumenfield added.
The City of San Fernando has issued a heat alert and has invited the public to take advantage of a cooling center at Las Palmas Park. The Las Palmas Park cooling center is open 9 a.m.-7 p.m. July 15-16. Location, 505 S. Huntington St., San Fernando. 818-898-7340.
According to the city’s Alert San Fernando webpage, the cooling center is opened when the temperature hits 100 degrees. Information about San Fernando alerts are here: ci.san-fernando.ca.us/alert-san-fernando/#cooling-centers.
The City of Glendale on Thursday released addresses and hours for cooling centers that are open July 14-18. The locations are:
– Adult Recreation Center: 201 E. Colorado St.; 818-548-3775: 10 a.m.-8 p.m.
– Pacific Community Center, 501 S. Pacific Ave.; 818-518-4098: 10 a.m.-8 p.m.
– Sparr Heights Community Center, 1613 Glencoe Way; 818-548-2100: 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
– Maple Park Community Center, 820 E. Maple St.; 818-548-3694: 10 a.m.-8 p.m. July 15-16 only.
The city of Palmdale opens cooling centers when temperatures reach 100 degrees. The locations are:
– Palmdale City Library, 700 E. Palmdale Blvd.; 661-267-5600: 10 a.m.-8 p.m. July 15; special hours for this Sunday, 10 a.m.-8 p.m. July 16 (there will be no library services between 10 a.m.-1 p.m. and also, 5-8 p.m.)
– Victory Outreach, 37419 25th St. E.; 661-274-4909. For possible rides to this center, 661-701-2145. Its hours are 10 a.m.-8 p.m. July 15; 9 a.m.-9 p.m. July 16.
For more cooling centers in L.A. County go to: ready.lacounty.gov/heat. The public can call 211 for more information on cooling centers.
Cooling centers in the City of Los Angeles are open 10 a.m.-9 p.m., July 15 and 16. They are:
– Canoga Park Senior Center: 7326 Jordan Ave. (818-340-2633
– Mid-Valley Senior Center: 8825 Kester Ave., Panorama City (818-892-0892)
– Highland Park Recreation Center: 6150 Piedmont Ave. (213-847-4876)
– Fred Roberts Recreation Center: 4700 S. Honduras Ave., Los Angeles (323-236-8650)
More information can be found at “Beat the Heat” webpage: emergency.lacity.org/la-responds/beat-heat. The public can call the city’s 311 line for more information.
Los Angeles Public Library branches are an option. To find one, go to www.lapl.org. These libraries are open 1-5 p.m. on Sunday, July 16:
– North Hollywood: 5211 Tujunga Ave. (818-766-7185)
– Mid-Valley: 16244 Nordhoff St., North Hills (818-895-3650)
– West Valley: 19036 Vanowen St., Reseda (818-345-9806)
– Arroyo Seco: 6145 N. Figueroa St., Los Angeles (323-255-0537)
– Exposition Park: 3900 S. Western Ave., Los Angeles (323-290-3113
– Goldwyn-Hollywood: 1623 Ivar Ave., Los Angeles (323-856-8260)
– San Pedro: 931 S. Gaffey St. (310-548-7779)
– West Los Angeles: 11360 Santa Monica Blvd. (310-575-8323)
The Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area sent an alert on Friday about hiking and other outdoor activities this weekend in the Santa Monica Mountains, and urged people to leave their dogs at home because dogs can succumb to high temperatures.
“Heat is the number one cause of weather-related fatalities in the U.S., so please limit outdoor activities to the early or later part of the day when the temperatures are not as high,” said David Szymanski, park superintendent for Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, in its emailed alert.
“We also want to prevent what we see too often during this time of year — dogs succumbing to the effects of the summer heat on the trail. Dogs are more susceptible to heat stroke and can literally die within minutes. Please leave them at home in the air conditioning.”
City News Service contributed to this report.