AUGUSTA — With sweltering heat expected over the next few days, the city of Augusta plans to open the Augusta Civic Center from Thursday through Sunday as a daytime cooling center.
The air-conditioned, city-owned facility at 76 Community Drive is to open as a cooling center from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each of the four days, according to Haley Gauvin, the city’s director of communications and marketing.
There will also be cooling centers open Thursday in Richmond. The Richmond Area Senior Center at 314 Front St. is scheduled to be open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. And the town’s Umberhine Public Library at 86 Main St. is to be open from 2 to 8 p.m., according to town officials.
The extreme heat has also caused Augusta officials to temporarily alter the city’s summer camp and trash collection services.
Fire Chief David Groder said the cooling center will be open to anyone who needs it.
On July 20 and 21, the city also opened the facility as a cooling center, although Groder said it saw minimal use.
The weather forecast over the next few days calls for temperatures in the 90s.
Further assistance and resources for sheltering from the elements is available by calling 211, texting your zip code to 898-211 or visiting www.211maine.org.
The Camp at Buker summer camp, a city of Augusta child care program, is scheduled to be closed Thursday due to extreme heat and humidity.
In a post on the child care program’s Facebook page, officials wrote that state licensing requires rooms be kept at 82 degrees or cooler, and officials were concerned they would not be able to safely care for children Thursday, which is expected to see temperatures of 95 degrees or hotter.
Gauvin said the Buker Community Center, the site of the child care program, does not have central air conditioning, and the two rooms with air conditioners could not keep up with the cooling demands of such a hot day.
The summer camp program serves 85 children.
Also due to the hot weather, the city’s Public Works Department expects to begin collecting rubbish earlier than usual for the next couple of days and will run an extra truck. Residents should have their rubbish to the curb by 7 a.m.
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