Salvation Army Opens Emergency Cooling Center as Early Heat Wave Hits Yuma

With Yuma temperatures hitting 106 degrees during an unusually early and intense March heat wave, the Salvation Army opened an emergency cooling center at its Yuma Corps and Family Services location at 445 S. Fourth Avenue, near Fourth Ave. Junior High School, on Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The center offered water, snacks, cooling supplies and referrals to community resources for anyone who needed a place to escape the triple-digit heat that swept through parts of Yuma County. KYMA labeled the conditions a "First Alert Action Day," describing the Desert Southwest as following up historical heat with another scorching day.

The heat wave prompted similar responses across the region. In Tucson, the Salvation Army opened its downtown Hospitality House as a temporary cooling center beginning Thursday in partnership with Pima County, with the site scheduled to operate through Sunday, March 22. That facility offered a more extensive range of services, including air-conditioned rest areas, cots, showers, laundry, hot meals and sack lunches distributed to guests each evening at closing.

"For the people outside, people that they need to be cooled down," said Andres Espinoza, a city coordinator with the Salvation Army, describing the Tucson operation. "They come to the Hospitality House, between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. And we have a cot like this one so they can rest, cool down. We have showers, we have laundry. And also we have a hot lunch for them." Espinoza added that guests also received food when they left: "When they go out at 5 o'clock, we provide a sack lunch for them also."

Heat exhaustion and heatstroke are serious risks during prolonged exposure to temperatures at this level. Public health officials typically urge people to stay hydrated, limit strenuous outdoor activity during peak afternoon hours and check on elderly or vulnerable neighbors during heat events of this kind.