Cooling station open at Optimum Community Center 

BULLHEAD CITY – The City of Bullhead City has opened a cooling station at the Optimum Community Center to provide a place for members of the public to shelter from the heat during the Excessive Heat Warning issued by the National Weather Service for our area. The cooling station will be open Wednesday – Sunday this week from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. in addition to the community center’s regular hours of operation. The Optimum Community Center’s normal hours are Monday – Saturday from 8 a.m. – noon, Tuesdays from 5 – 10 p.m., Thursdays from 6 – 9 p.m., Fridays from 5 – 8 p.m., and weekends from 3 – 8 p.m. The Optimum Community Center is located at 2380 Optimum Way (formerly Suddenlink Way) in Bullhead City.
The Cooling Station has two indoor air-conditioned spaces available. There is a space for pet owners and their animals and a place for people. The cooling center also provides water, puzzles, and board games for attendees to be comfortable.
“We’re opening this cooling station out of an abundance of caution for our most vulnerable residents in the community,” said City Manager Toby Cotter. “Less than five people utilized the space when we opened it last weekend, which shows how prepared our residents are for Bullhead’s summer temperatures.”
Prolonged exposure to temperatures exceeding 100 degrees Fahrenheit can be fatal. Infants and children up to 4 years of age, people 65 years of age and older, people who are overweight, and people who are ill or on certain medications are at the most significant risk for heat-related illness.
“It’s important for people to be prepared, to know the warning signs of heat-related illness, and to have an emergency plan,” said Bullhead City Police Department Emergency Services Coordinator Lieutenant Andrew Sevillano. “Every household’s emergency plan will be unique to their situation but should include a list of contacts, evacuation routes, and response plans for various emergencies, including power outages or air conditioning failures.”
“The most significant risk we’ve seen to our locals occurs when the summer heat causes older air conditioning units to fail,” Cotter said. “Servicing an air conditioner can be an expensive emergency that some people cannot afford, which is why the City Council voted to give $100,000.00 to the River Fund in October 2021 to help local low-income families with emergency home repairs and weatherization, in addition to rent, mortgage, utility assistance, and more.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides helpful advice for spotting heat-related illnesses and navigating extreme heat events at cdc.gov/disasters/extremeheat/.
– Mackenzie Covert