Rainstorms are hitting Sacramento. Here’s how to find warming spaces, weather respite center
With the Sacramento region expecting continued rain Saturday by an atmospheric river storm, the city and county will provide warming centers and weather respite locations.
Sacramento County’s Department of Homeless Services and Housing is operating a weather respite center until Monday at the Warren E. Thornton Youth Center on 4000 Branch Center Road in Rosemont.
This location, which is primarily for homeless Sacramento residents, offers showers, cots to sleep on and food. The county will allow residents to bring their pets, but they must be crated while in the building. Cat and dog food will also be available.
Janna Haynes, the public information officer for Sacramento County, said the youth center has around 75 cots. First Step Communities, a nonprofit that creates interim and emergency shelters for Sacramento’s homeless population, runs this site.
“We have cots set up there for 75 people, and we leave it ready to go all winter,” Haynes said. “So as soon as the activation happens, we don’t have to set it up every time.”
The city of Sacramento will open warming spaces, which can found at 211sacramento.org. These spaces provide heaters and a place for people to keep warm. Typically these spaces are in libraries or community centers.
Haynes said both of these weather respite centers are open when Sacramento sees three or more consecutive days of cold weather and rain. The county looks at weather patterns within two continuous days or three days within a five day period, to determine if a weather respite center will open. In regards to temperature, the county will open their centers if there are more than three consecutive nights where it’s 37 degrees or below.
While not an exact science, she said, the county will observe the possibility of continuous rainfall and work in conjunction with the National Weather Service’s advisories.
Tips on weather safety, staying warm
Haynes highly recommends residents sign up for the county’s Emergency Alert system, in case of flooding or evacuations.
“If there’s an emergency in their area, they can be alerted to it directly to their phone and take action,” Haynes said. “Those alerts are only used in the most important of circumstances.”
The county recommends being cautious of types of heating systems being used by residents staying indoors.
Older space heaters do not have mechanisms to turn off if they fall over, so she advised individuals to be cautious. Residents should not heat their homes with an open flame or propane tank because it causes a “massive fire risk,” Haynes said.
And when it comes to the furry friends of Sacramento, Haynes said residents should keep their pets inside. As the weather begins to reach freezing levels, it’s important to keep them safe as well. Unlike humans, pets can’t regulate their body temperatures the same way.
