July 1, 2023 7:50 a.m.

The Roseburg Senior Center will operate a daytime cooling center if needed this summer.

A City of Roseburg release said the National Weather Service forecast does not currently meet the extreme heat criteria to open a cooling center in the next week.

The senior center, at 1614 Southeast Stephens Street, is still making preparations to host a cooling center when the forecast meets the criteria, according to Senior Center Board President Steve Lewis. Lewis said that volunteers will be needed to run the center.

Hot weather conditions that trigger the opening of a cooling center are:

*Forecast high temperature of 102 degrees or more

*Forecast high temperature of 95 degrees or more and additional factors and considerations that would reasonably cause a person to be at increased risk of exposure to heat including- precipitation, humidity, wind, duration and potential for cumulative effects, and overall weather patterns

The senior center received an $87,000 grant from Umpqua Health Alliance to repair the building’s roof and elevator. The grant award was partly based on the facility’s work to operate a cooling center last summer and a winter warming center overnight, according to Roseburg City Councilor Ruth Smith, past president of the senior center board.