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Spokane opens emergency warming shelters for homeless

Rusty Barnett, program director of the Hope House at First and Browne in Spokane, gathers donated blankets, hats and gloves that can be given to women who use the warming center. Barnett is expecting as many as eight women to stay at the center as frigid weather settles into the region. (Dan Pelle / The Spokesman-Review)
By Mike Prager mikeprager15@gmail.com(509) 459-5454
Rusty Barnett, program director of the Hope House at First and Browne in Spokane, gathers donated blankets, hats and gloves that can be given to women who use the warming center. Barnett is expecting as many as eight women to stay at the center as frigid weather settles into the region. (Dan Pelle / The Spokesman-Review)

Emergency warming centers for the homeless opened in Spokane on Wednesday night, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced an increase in electrical output at two of its large dams in the region in anticipation of an arctic freeze starting tonight.

Heavy snow showers Wednesday evening triggered a series of mostly minor collisions in the region. The snow fell in advance of an arctic front expected today.

The three nonprofit shelters will open at 8 p.m. for overnight accommodations above their normal lodging capacities. They are:

“The House of Charity, 32 W. Pacific Ave., for single men.

“Salvation Army, 1403 W. Broadway Ave., for families with children.

“Hope House, 111 W. Third Ave., for single women.

The city of Spokane authorizes the emergency warming centers when temperatures are expected to drop to 5 degrees or lower, including wind chill.

The Spokane Regional Health District also issued a health advisory Wednesday warning residents to take precautions against the cold.

Also, the Spokane County Regional Animal Protection Service asked pet owners to be aware of the dangers their animals face and to bring them indoors or give them appropriate shelter.

The National Weather Service issued a hazardous weather outlook for the Inland Northwest because of the cold. Lows tonight are expected to drop to near zero in Spokane and Coeur d’Alene.

Winds of 10 to 25 mph could cause wind chills to drop as low as 13 below zero overnight tonight.

The Army Corps announced Wednesday it is increasing water flows at Libby Dam in Montana by 60 percent from 13,000 cubic feet per second to 22,000 cfs. The flow from Dworshak Dam in Idaho was being increased slowly to 10,000 cfs.

Cold snaps cause demand for electrical energy to go up, largely for indoor heating.

The cold weather comes after a mild day Tuesday, when the temperature rose to 49 degrees in Spokane and 50 in Sandpoint. The 50 degrees in Sandpoint set a daily record high for that city, where records have been kept since 1910. The previous record in Sandpoint was 48 degrees in 1990. The cold is expected to ease by Monday, when highs will increase to the low 20s with lows around 12 in Spokane and Coeur d’Alene.