Multnomah County announces daytime cooling shelters open on Friday amid heat wave
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) -- Multnomah County announced on Thursday that daytime cooling shelters will open in Portland and Gresham on Friday as temperatures are forecasted to peak to the triple digits amid an excessive heat warning issued by the National Weather Service.
Multnomah County's daytime cooling shelters will be available from noon to 10 p.m. at the following locations:
- Cook Plaza, 19421 S.E. Stark St., Gresham
- Portland Covenant Church, 4046 N.E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Portland
- The Hugo, 6221 N.E. 82nd Ave., Portland
Meanwhile, two Multnomah County libraries -- Central at 801 SW 10th Ave. in Portland and Gresham at 385 NW Miller Ave. -- will extend their operating hours until 9 p.m. and will be able to give out bottled water to those in need.
According to the city of Gresham, no one will be turned away from these shelters and pets will also be welcome.
Clackamas County officials announced a daytime cooling center will be open on Thursday at Father's Heart in Oregon City. In Washington County, starting Friday, the Beaverton City Library Main and Murray Scholls branches will be available as cooling centers, with Beaverton's main branch extending hours until 9 p.m. through Sunday.
In Washington's Clark County, daytime cooling centers will be open on Friday at the Mill Plain United Methodist Church and Living Hope Church.
The National Weather Service's excessive heat warning starts at noon on Thursday, July 4 for the Portland metro area and lasts until 11 p.m. on Sunday. Officials say forecasts call for "dangerously hot conditions with temperatures 100 to 105 expected." Temperatures aren't expected to cool off much either after the excessive heat warning expires, according to KOIN 6 Meteorologist Josh Cozart.
Stay with KOIN 6 News as this story develops.