After a very brief break on Tuesday, temperatures are once again spiking in the Bay Area. The National Weather Service has again issued excessive heat warnings and advisories for most of the Bay Area through Friday at 8 p.m.
That includes all of Contra Costa County, where the goal is to make sure everyone has a place to stay safe as temperatures rise.
Contra Costa County is providing an updated list on its website of free cooling centers, where people without air conditioners can go to cool down. Those cooling centers include the Concord Senior Center, which was open Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. and will also be open on Thursday and Friday during those same hours.
In Concord, temperatures are expected to hover around 100 degrees during this heat wave.
Many Contra Costa County residents are seeking relief during the heat.
"It's been impacting me and everybody I know," said John Harris, a senior who lives in Bay Point.
On Wednesday, Harris took refuge and enjoyed lunch at the Cafe in the air-conditioned Pittsburg Senior Center, hosted by Meals on Wheels Diablo Region.
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The cafe provides Harris food, company, and a break from his home where he has no airconditioning.
"I have strategically placed windows that I open," Harris explained.
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Fern Fonesca, the nutrition manager for Meals on Wheels Diablo region noted, "there's a huge population [of seniors] that don’t have air-conditioning, [and] some that do, that just don’t have the funds to pay to have the air conditioner running full force."
Meals on Wheels Diablo Region operates seven cafes like this across the county where seniors who are able to drive or take public transit can enjoy meals with other seniors.
"We always try to remind them to stay hydrated, because that does seem to be a challenge, especially for our aging population," Fonesca said.
Meals on Wheels Drivers also deliver meals to the home sof seniors who can't travel, and those visits are about more than food.
"Our drivers always check with them and kind of remind them ‘Are you staying hydrated? are you staying cool?’" Fonesca explained.
Drivers and other staff are taught to identify seniors struggling with the heat, and help them to get fans, new refrigerators, access to cooling centers and more.
For seniors who might otherwise be isolated, having someone to check on them or a social environment makes a big difference.
"It’s a great break from the weather when it turns sour like that," Harris said.
If you're looking for a way to help, Meals on Wheels Diablo Region says it is always looking for more volunteers.
