LA is opening 4 ‘augmented’ cooling centers this holiday week. Why are they needed?

Southern California is in the midst of an excessive heat wave this week, as the Fourth of July holiday approaches.

If your A/C breaks down, fans aren’t enough, or you’re one of the thousands of unhoused Angelenos looking for respite, cooling centers can be a lifeline.

With the latest heat wave expected to last through early next week, temperatures will likely reach triple digits in some areas. That’s why the city of Los Angeles and the county are taking steps to ensure there are more spots to cool down.

Deciding where and when to open centers

As my colleague Erin Stone reported, the city promotes more than 200 city and county libraries, senior centers, and rec centers, in addition to over 50 pools as “cooling centers.”

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A “cooling center” can technically be any cold building that’s open to the public and allows people to rest, but official spots help create a reliable infrastructure during warmer weather.

But during extreme heat, the city and county usually adds “augmented” cooling centers. These can be rec centers and libraries that have longer hours, snacks, water and a dedicated air-conditioned space. All city park and rec facilities always allow pets when they’re activated as a cooling center, while libraries only allow service dogs.

In determining where to open augmented spots, the city relies on National Weather Service forecasts, feedback from city council members, neighborhood councils and other government departments, such as the L.A. Homeless Services Authority and the Department of Aging, according to Joseph Riser, a spokesperson for L.A.’s Emergency Management Department.

Riser said Tuesday that the city just finalized a list of augmented cooling centers to cover the holiday and heat wave, which you can see at the end of this story.

Do the spots get used?

The public does use these locations, but they aren’t necessarily jam-packed.

During a record-long and hot heat wave in September 2022, the city ultimately opened 11 augmented centers. It was during the Labor Day weekend, when many of the city's libraries, pools, and other “cooling centers” had limited hours or were closed.

According to data provided to LAist from the city, a total of 2,254 people went to the 11 augmented centers over the 10-day heat wave.

Those numbers may end up similar this time around. City and county libraries — which are known as “permanent” cooling centers — are expected to be closed on July 4, knocking out a sizable portion of spots to cool down in.

Where augmented cooling centers will open

According to the Office of Emergency Management, L.A. County does plan to augment cooling center services, though the locations haven’t been made public yet. That information is expected to be released soon on ready.lacounty.gov/heat.

For the city of L.A., the four augmented cooling centers will operate from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. from Wednesday, July 3 to Monday, July 8. The locations are:

• Fred Roberts Recreation Center (CD 9) | 4700 Honduras Street, Los Angeles
• Mid Valley Senior Center (CD6) | 8825 Kester Avenue, Panorama City
• Lake View Terrace Recreation Center (CD 7) | 11075 West Foothill Boulevard, Lake View Terrace
• Jim Gilliam Recreation Center (CD 8) | 4000 South La Brea Avenue, Los Angeles

Reporter Erin Stone contributed to this story.