Temperatures in much of Oregon are expected to surge well above 100 on Monday and Tuesday, with the first chance of slightly cooler weather coming on Wednesday. Starting Monday evening, most of the I-5 corridor will also be under an air quality advisory that extends from Vancouver, Washington, south to Medford.
The state has seen more frequent heat waves with minimal overnight cooling in recent years, a trend largely attributed to climate change.
A sign directing people inside the Old Town Cooling Center on Northwest Glisan Street in Portland on Aug. 14, 2023. People seeking cooling were offered water, snacks, towels and hygiene products to maintain self-care in the extreme heat.
Caden Perry / OPB
“We’re not doing enough about it. That’s what I say,” said Daisy Lackaff, a Portland woman spending a few hours in the Belmont Library on Monday afternoon to soak in the air conditioning. She said she’d rather have gone to the Central Library close to her home “where there’s a lot more room and a lot more books,” but that location is closed for renovation.
Public libraries across the state are one free option for beating the heat in the next few days for the many Oregon residents who don’t have a home with air conditioning. In addition to cooling centers and public parks with splash pads, libraries are among the locations that have been promoted by public health officials conscious of lessons learned from the deadly 2021 heat dome.
Blare Stew uses the Belmont Library in Multnomah County to cool off during the region's heatwave. Stew lives in his car and works in music and theater arts.
Conrad Wilson / OPB
In Lane County, officials communicated with people experiencing homelessness ahead of the heat wave on how to store their property and find a safe place for their pets.
“I think it’s just about being smarter about providing this resource for folks and making sure it’s properly utilized, and that we have enough time to make sure it’s properly promoted, so that folks know how to get there and what to expect once they arrive,” said Jason Davis, a spokesperson for Lane County Health and Human Services. “Those were all things that we learned from the heat dome, and I’m sure we’ll learn more from this event.”
In Multnomah County, cooling shelters opened early to give people more time to relocate. The county also stepped up communication ahead of the heat wave. One county-run call center contacted 300 property management associations to let them know about the coming high temps.
And since last summer, “we distributed a total of 1,000 air conditioning units and 300 cooling kits out to the community for folks who are considered more vulnerable to heat,” said Rachel Pearl, deputy director of the department of county human services.
Multnomah County has also created a heat vulnerability index that takes into account things like local residents’ access to in-home air conditioning, their level of sensitivity to the heat and the percentage of land covered by tree canopy, said Brendon Haggerty, the county’s healthy homes and communities manager.
“That’s been informing our response,” Haggerty said of the heat vulnerability index. “During this event, we’ve been able to make sure that we have cooling centers in some of the areas with the highest vulnerability.”
In metro areas, county governments have taken the lead on coordinating services for anyone needing a cool place to spend the day. They have handed out water and staffed cooling centers. And they’ve worked with other government agencies to coordinate efforts like extended hours at public libraries.
At the Belmont Library in Portland, Monday wasn’t much busier than usual, said Gabe Giesige, library administrator. But people have been coming earlier and staying longer.
“We’re a small building,” Giesige said. “It’s hard to grab a seat. So, I think when people do come in and find one, that’s why they’re staying as long as they can. Because if they get up, they’re probably going to lose it.”
Public health officials are also urging Oregonians to check on their friends and neighbors and to consider sharing air conditioning. People with cardio-pulmonary issues, those who have small children and those who are older are especially vulnerable to extreme heat.
A full list of services for counties under heat emergency can be found at 211.org.
Anyone is eligible to access free, public cooling options. Davis in Lane County urged people without sufficient access to indoor cooling to consider seeking some amount of relief from the heat in the coming days.
“In an event like this, when we’re seeing those triple digits, it affects the entire community,” Davis said. “There’s absolutely no shame or anything wrong with utilizing those resources.”
Correction: Gabe Giesige’s name was spelled incorrectly in a previous version of this article.