How to stay cool in the heat wave

Southern California is in the grip of an unusual heat wave for this time of year. Temperatures around much of the region will be in the upper 90s for much of the week, with some areas seeing highs above 100 degrees. 

City and county officials have designated a number of public facilities as "cooling centers" for people at risk of injury or illness due to the heat.

"We want to make sure people know where they're vulnerable and what they're doing and to make sure they know where the city facilities are and the services that they can provide to help them," said Anna Burton, interim general manager of the Emergency Management Department for the City of Los Angeles.

Cooling Centers

The county and city have published lists of public facilities where citizens without access to air-conditioning can go to escape the heat. 

Burton said that cooling centers are facilities that are typically open to the public — including libraries, recreation and community centers and senior centers  — and that anyone needing relief should feel free to use them.

"A senior center is not restricted to senior citizens," Burton said. "A senior center is open to anyone, but naturally some of the programs and the events that they host really have a focus for some of our older Americans."

Los Angeles city residents seeking information on the locations of cooling centers can call 3-1-1. County residents can dial 2-1-1. 

Los Angeles County Cooling Center Info

Pools

Despite the heat, most of the city's public swimming pools will not open early. The summer season runs from June 14 - September 1.

A city official said that seven of the city's seasonal pools will open on June 7, due to a grant from the Kaiser Foundation. However, that doesn't mean relief this week.  

Those seeking watery respite will have to utilize the city's year-round swimming pools. Several of those pools, however, are contained within high schools and have limited hours. 

Year-round pools:

• BANNING POOL 1450 N. Avalon Blvd., Wilmington, CA 90744
• CELES KING III INDOOR POOL 5001 Rodeo Rd., Los Angeles, CA 90016
• CLEVELAND HIGH SCHOOL INDOOR POOL 8120 Vanalden Ave., Reseda, CA 91335
• E.G. ROBERTS INDOOR POOL 4526 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, 90019
• ECHO DEEP POOL 1419 Colton St., Los Angeles, CA 90026
• FREMONT INDOOR POOL 7630 S. Towne Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90003
• GLASSELL PARK POOL 3704 Verdugo Rd., Los Angeles, CA 90065
• HUBERT HUMPHREY POOL 12560 Filmore St., Pacoima, CA 91331
• JOHN C. ARGUE/LA84 FOUNDATION SWIM STADIUM (EXPO) 3980 Bill Robertson Lane, Los Angeles, CA 90037
• LOS ANGELES CENTER FOR ENRICHED STUDIES (LACES) POOL 5931 W. 18th St., Los Angeles, CA 90035
• PECK PARK POOL 560 N. Western Ave., San Pedro, CA 90732
• RICHARD ALATORRE INDOOR POOL 4721 Klamath St., Los Angeles, CA 90032
• ROOSEVELT POOL 456 S. Mathews St., Los Angeles, CA 90033
• VAN NUYS SHERMAN OAKS POOL 14201 Huston St., Van Nuys, CA 91403
• VENICE HIGH SCHOOL INDOOR POOL 2490 Walgrove Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90066
• WESTWOOD INDOOR POOL 1350 Sepulveda Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90025

Air conditioning

Though the unseasonable heat is likely to increase pressure on the electrical grid, energy officials said the state should have enough power on hand to meet demand. 

"We have adequate supplies to meet the forecast demand at this point, and barring any extreme events such as wildfires or other unusual transmission and generation outages, we're not forecasting any problems in the ISO area," said Steven Greenlee, spokesman for the California Independent Service Operator. 

Greenlee said power supplies should be adequate through summer.

The California ISO issues Flex Alerts when high demand forces officials to tap into energy reserves. A Flex Alert is a call for members of the public to voluntarily reduce their usage.

Greenlee said the last time that California ISO issued a Flex Alert for Southern California was August 14, 2012. The earliest an alert has been called statewide was July 1, 2013.